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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: coach · staff · fork · kid · board · ground · present · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. kid — child
  7. present — a gift
  8. board — a committee
  9. kid — to tease
  10. staff — employees
  11. ground — crushed
  12. row — to paddle
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. staff — employees
  15. present — the time now
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. board — to get on
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. present — there
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fork — in a road
  22. staff — a stick
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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