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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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468
Word bank
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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. plane — a tool
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. field — a subject
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rock — music
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. cell — in biology
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. field — farmland
  13. rock — a stone
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. cell — a phone
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. field — for sport
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — to go away

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