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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: season · row · fork · hand · lash · ground · net · chip

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. ground — crushed
  3. chip — to eat
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. hand — in cards
  6. ground — a position
  7. net — in sport
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. net — for catching
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. ground — the earth
  16. season — in sport
  17. row — a line
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. net — after costs
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. hand — help
  23. fork — in a road
  24. chip — for betting

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