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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: craft · kick · fall · fork · row · ground · deal · hand

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. row — to paddle
  3. hand — help
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. fall — to drop
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. kick — in football
  11. fork — in a road
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. hand — in cards
  14. ground — a position
  15. row — a line
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. ground — crushed
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. fall — to drop
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fall — the season
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a skill
  24. ground — the earth

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