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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. track — a song
  9. spring — the season
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pitch — completely
  18. fork — in a road
  19. track — a path
  20. chair — a leader
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. spring — of water
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. row — to paddle

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