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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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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: staff · fall · wave · fan · hide · row · pitcher · fork

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fall — to drop
  12. row — to paddle
  13. fall — to drop
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fork — in a road
  17. row — a line
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. staff — a stick
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. fall — the season
  24. wave — of the sea

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