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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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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: kick · chest · row · bark · land · bowl · fork · rest

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rest — a break
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. land — a country
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. land — to come down
  11. chest — of your body
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. land — ground
  17. fork — in a road
  18. kick — in football
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. row — a line
  24. fork — to eat with

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