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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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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: fork · cap · row · swing · lean · bark · last · coach

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. last — finally
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. swing — to play on
  6. lean — to bend
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. last — to go on
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. swing — music
  11. row — a line
  12. swing — in golf
  13. last — final
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fork — in a road
  19. row — to paddle
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cap — a hat
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. lean — thin
  24. cap — a lid

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