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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: fan · trunk · hand · row · fork · lie · foot · pass

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. hand — help
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pass — a permit
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. lie — to recline
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fork — in a road
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. pass — to spend time

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