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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. land — to come down
  5. scale — in music
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. land — ground
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. land — a country
  14. plane — a tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. scale — size or range
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chest — a box
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitch — completely
  23. shower — rain
  24. pitch — a sports field

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