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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: fork · pit · lean · row · chest · ground

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. row — to paddle
  3. ground — crushed
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. lean — thin
  6. chest — of your body
  7. row — a line
  8. chest — a box
  9. pit — a hole
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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