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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: trunk · stick · straw · row · fan · tube · ground · fork

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. ground — crushed
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. ground — the earth
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. tube — the underground
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. ground — a position
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. tube — a container
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fork — in a road
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. row — a line

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