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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · press · calf · row · land · fork · band · saw

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. land — ground
  5. last — to go on
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. band — a music group
  10. press — newspapers
  11. land — a country
  12. press — to push
  13. land — to come down
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. last — final
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fork — in a road
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. press — a publisher
  23. saw — the tool
  24. last — finally

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