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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 116 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: saw · pit · fork · row · bear · game · object · bat

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. row — a line
  4. pit — in a race
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — to protest
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bat — the animal

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