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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: fork · roll · wave · lean · court · tube · row · cell

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. roll — a list
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. court — of law
  6. cell — a phone
  7. tube — a container
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. lean — thin
  17. roll — a cake
  18. lean — to bend
  19. row — to paddle
  20. tube — the underground
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cell — in biology
  23. row — a quarrel
  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