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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. foot — a measure
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. spring — a coil
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — to confront
  10. row — to paddle
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. lean — thin
  13. mine — for digging
  14. face — part of the head
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. spring — the season
  18. board — to get on
  19. lean — to bend
  20. spring — of water
  21. fork — in a road
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. row — a line

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