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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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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: cap · bound · fork · kid · dip · row · staff · stem

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. staff — employees
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cap — a lid
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bound — certain
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. kid — child
  18. bound — tied together
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a hat
  22. row — a line
  23. bound — obliged
  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