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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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 quarrel
  2. fall — the season
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fork — in a road
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. snap — to click
  15. rash — a series
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. rash — hasty
  18. wake — a trail
  19. kick — in football
  20. row — a line
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fork — to eat with
  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