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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pit — in a race
  3. ground — a position
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. ball — a dance
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. wind — moving air
  10. net — in sport
  11. fork — in a road
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pit — a hole
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bark — to shout
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ground — crushed

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