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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 · mark · fork · wind · ground · land · scale · wave

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. row — to paddle
  3. scale — in music
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ground — crushed
  8. land — ground
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wind — moving air
  11. scale — size or range
  12. fork — in a road
  13. row — a line
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. mark — a grade
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. ground — the earth
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. mark — a trace

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