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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 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fork — in a road
  5. mate — to breed
  6. plane — a tool
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mate — a friend
  15. fall — the season
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. fall — to drop
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. squash — the vegetable

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