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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. fall — the season
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pass — a permit
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. spring — of water
  12. fork — in a road
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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