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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: lean · mark · straw · rush · net · row · chair · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. lean — to bend
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. row — to paddle
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. chair — a leader
  15. lean — thin
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. fork — in a road
  23. net — in sport
  24. straw — dry grass

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