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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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Word bank
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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: firm · racket · row · bat · bound · hand · fork · spell

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fork — in a road
  5. firm — a company
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spell — a short time
  9. hand — help
  10. bound — tied together
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — letters
  13. bound — certain
  14. firm — steady
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bound — obliged

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