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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: bat · fork · clip · shower · safe · press · mark · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. row — a line
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mark — a grade
  7. press — a publisher
  8. clip — for paper
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. press — to push
  11. bat — the animal
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. shower — rain
  24. press — newspapers

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