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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 120 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: mark · mine · fork · rule · row · kid · firm · wind

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. firm — steady
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. firm — a company
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rule — a law
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mark — a trace
  13. row — a line
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — government
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. wind — moving air
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. firm — decided

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