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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: kick · stem · club · row · ground · fork

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. club — for golf
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. row — a line
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fork — in a road
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. stem — to come from
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. fork — to eat with
  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