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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. degree — temperature
  4. row — a line
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fork — in a road
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. tear — to rip
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wound — an injury
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. row — to paddle
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. degree — an amount
  24. coach — a trainer

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