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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 116 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: fork · pound · shower · chair · row · bear · firm · content

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. pound — a weight
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. firm — decided
  9. content — the amount
  10. bear — the animal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. firm — steady
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chair — a leader
  20. shower — rain
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. firm — a company

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