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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fork — in a road
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. kid — to tease
  6. court — of law
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. plane — a tool
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. sharp — clever
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. court — of a king
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. court — for sport
  21. ground — the earth
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. kid — child
  24. sharp — exactly

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