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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: fork · lean · straw · mine · row · kick · rest · plane

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. mine — for digging
  11. row — a line
  12. lean — to bend
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fork — in a road
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. plane — a tool
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rest — a break
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. lean — thin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rest — what's left

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