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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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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: row · wind · spell · fall · mine · stick · calf · fork

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. row — a line
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. spell — magic
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. row — to paddle
  9. spell — letters
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. fall — the season
  21. mine — for digging
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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