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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 120 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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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: row · fork · prune · mine · board · stock · swing · content

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mine — for digging
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. row — to paddle
  11. prune — to trim
  12. content — happy
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stock — goods
  17. content — the amount
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — a committee
  21. stock — shares
  22. swing — music
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — in a road

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