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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pound — a weight
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. swing — music
  6. bank — of a river
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. row — a line
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bank — for money
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. court — of a king
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bank — for money
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fork — in a road
  22. row — to paddle
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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