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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. plane — a tool
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. rush — hurry
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. spring — the season
  20. shower — rain
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. fall — the season
  24. rush — a thrill

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