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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 116 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: wound · face · row · net · mate · sharp · fork · drill

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mate — to breed
  3. sharp — clever
  4. net — for catching
  5. mate — a partner
  6. drill — the tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. net — in sport
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. row — a line
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wound — an injury
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. drill — army training
  19. face — part of the head
  20. drill — a practice
  21. net — after costs
  22. row — to paddle
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. wound — an injury

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