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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 120 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. court — of a king
  4. fork — in a road
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. court — for sport
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rock — music
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. row — to paddle
  15. shower — rain
  16. band — a ring
  17. row — a line
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. court — of law
  23. band — a music group
  24. kick — in football

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