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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. shower — rain
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. clip — to cut
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. clip — a video
  8. plane — a tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. field — farmland
  13. bound — certain
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. saw — the tool
  17. field — a subject
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. clip — for paper
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — tied together
  24. shower — to wash

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