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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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Word bank
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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: spell · face · bank · stock · lean · row · fork · cold

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spell — magic
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. lean — to bend
  5. row — a line
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bank — of a river
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bank — for money
  13. spell — letters
  14. face — part of the head
  15. stock — shares
  16. face — to point toward
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. row — to paddle
  20. face — to confront
  21. spell — a short time
  22. stock — goods
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fork — in a road

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