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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. row — a line
  3. mug — to rob
  4. march — music
  5. mug — a cup
  6. march — the month
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — for digging
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ball — a dance
  21. march — the month
  22. ball — a great time
  23. fork — in a road
  24. ball — a round shape

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