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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 116 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. march — the month
  6. wake — a trail
  7. court — of law
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. court — for sport
  14. march — the month
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. fork — in a road
  18. press — to push
  19. press — newspapers
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. march — music
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. press — a publisher
  24. court — of a king

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