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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mate — a partner
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. kid — to tease
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. mate — a friend
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bat — the animal
  11. hand — in cards
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. kid — child
  15. row — a line
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. hand — help
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fork — in a road

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