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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 · hide · bowl · wound · fork · bay · saw · fall

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fall — the season
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. saw — the tool
  12. row — to paddle
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — a line
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fall — to drop
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wound — an injury
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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