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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: straw · row · leaves · kick · stem · deal · spell · fork

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. deal — to handle
  6. stem — to come from
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. spell — magic
  9. fork — in a road
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. row — a line
  13. kick — in football
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. spell — a short time
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. spell — letters
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. row — to paddle
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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