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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. net — after costs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. net — for catching
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pound — a weight
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. net — in sport
  15. land — a country
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral

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