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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.

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: saw · fork · face · bat · rock · clip · row · roll

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rock — a stone
  4. saw — the tool
  5. face — part of the head
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. roll — a list
  12. face — to point toward
  13. row — to paddle
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rock — music
  17. face — to confront
  18. clip — to cut
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bat — for baseball

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