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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: board · fork · ground · land · kid · bay · saw · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. saw — the tool
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. land — ground
  7. board — a committee
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. board — to get on
  13. saw — the tool
  14. kid — child
  15. land — a country
  16. ground — a position
  17. fork — in a road
  18. land — to come down
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. present — the time now
  21. kid — to tease
  22. ground — the earth
  23. present — there
  24. fork — to eat with

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