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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. net — after costs
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. wake — a trail
  13. hand — help
  14. net — for catching
  15. vault — a safe
  16. rock — a stone
  17. field — for sport
  18. fork — in a road
  19. net — in sport
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. field — a subject
  24. hand — in cards

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