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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. file — a line of people
  4. track — to keep track
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wax — to grow
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pop — music
  12. fork — in a road
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. track — a song
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. file — a document
  19. track — a path
  20. kick — in football
  21. pop — to visit
  22. file — a tool
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. pop — soda

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