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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: pitch · row · saw · snap · cabinet · swing · bark · fork

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bark — to shout
  10. saw — the tool
  11. snap — to click
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. swing — music
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fork — in a road
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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