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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: rock · fork · lash · pound · fine · file · cold · game

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. fork — in a road
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. file — a document
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pound — a weight
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. rock — a stone
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. rock — music
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. game — a match
  22. file — a tool
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — high quality

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