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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: bank · march · fork · tear · hide · stand · lean · row

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. march — music
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. row — a line
  7. march — the month
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bank — of a river
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. tear — to rip
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fork — in a road
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. lean — thin
  23. march — the month
  24. hide — animal skin

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