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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. march — music
  3. row — to paddle
  4. march — the month
  5. lean — to bend
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. field — a subject
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. clip — to cut
  16. field — for sport
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. lean — thin
  19. march — the month
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. row — a line
  24. field — farmland

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com