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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: fork · court · row · face · race · bay · wax · file

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. file — a document
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. fork — in a road
  9. court — for sport
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. wax — to grow
  12. race — the arms race
  13. file — a tool
  14. row — to paddle
  15. race — humankind
  16. face — part of the head
  17. court — of law
  18. row — a line
  19. court — of a king
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. face — to confront
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. race — a contest
  24. bay — a part 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