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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · fork · rash · racket · straw · spring · row · saw

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. saw — the tool
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. row — to paddle
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rash — hasty
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. rash — a series
  13. spring — a coil
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spring — the season
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. spring — of water
  18. fork — in a road
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. saw — the tool
  24. row — a line

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