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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. field — farmland
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. spell — letters
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. field — a subject
  13. bear — the animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spell — magic
  16. field — for sport
  17. spell — a short time
  18. hide — to keep secret

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