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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cue — a signal
  4. fork — in a road
  5. track — a song
  6. kid — child
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. track — a path
  9. tear — from crying
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cue — for pool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. plane — a tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. snap — to click
  17. tear — to rip
  18. present — the time now
  19. cue — a hint
  20. present — there
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. present — a gift
  23. kid — to tease
  24. track — to keep track

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