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

Word bank: swing · row · wave · mouse · fork · wound

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. row — a line
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. swing — to play on
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wound — an injury

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