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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. band — a music group
  4. row — to paddle
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. hand — in cards
  7. row — a line
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. land — a country
  10. band — a ring
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. land — to come down
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. fork — in a road
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. land — ground

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