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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: object · pound · hand · date · wave · row · fork · bank

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. hand — help
  3. bank — for money
  4. object — an aim
  5. row — a line
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. object — to protest
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. object — a thing
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. fork — in a road
  23. row — to paddle
  24. date — the fruit

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