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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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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. board — to get on
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. fork — in a road
  7. row — to paddle
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. face — to point toward
  11. board — a committee
  12. shower — to wash
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wound — an injury
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wound — an injury
  18. face — to confront
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. shower — rain
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. row — a line
  23. roll — a list
  24. fork — a garden tool

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