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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fork — in a road
  5. land — to come down
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bat — the animal
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. court — of law
  11. toast — bread
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. land — a country
  14. court — for sport
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. land — ground
  21. court — of a king
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fork — to eat with

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