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

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. row — a line
  7. hand — help
  8. tube — a container
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pit — a hole
  11. tube — the underground
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fork — in a road
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pit — in a race
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hand — in cards
  24. 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