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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · fork · row · saw · tear · pitch

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. 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. pound — for dogs
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. saw — the tool
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitch — completely
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. row — a line
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. fork — in a road
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pound — a weight
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. 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