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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pop — to visit
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ground — the earth
  10. game — wild animals
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. drill — the tool
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. drill — army training
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. game — a match
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. chest — a box
  24. plane — a tool

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