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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fork — in a road
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. game — wild animals
  6. kid — child
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. game — a match
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. last — finally
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. last — to go on
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. row — a line
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. last — final
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mine — for digging

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