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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — to drill
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. row — a line
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. stem — to come from
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. date — the fruit
  24. wound — an injury

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