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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 124 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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468
Word bank
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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rock — music
  4. row — a line
  5. fork — in a road
  6. row — to paddle
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rock — a stone
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. kick — in football
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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