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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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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: charge · fork · shower · field · fall · row · foot · land

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. field — for sport
  3. row — a line
  4. charge — in control
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. charge — electricity
  8. field — farmland
  9. shower — to wash
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. shower — rain
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. field — a subject
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. fall — the season
  18. row — to paddle
  19. fall — to drop
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fall — to drop
  22. charge — a price
  23. land — ground
  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