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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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 — a quarrel
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. board — a committee
  6. rash — hasty
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. hand — help
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. track — a song
  12. rash — a series
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a path
  17. board — to get on
  18. hand — in cards
  19. row — a line
  20. sharp — clever
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fork — in a road
  23. row — to paddle
  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