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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. pound — a weight
  3. file — a document
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. file — a tool
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. file — a line of people
  10. net — for catching
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. plane — a tool
  13. root — of a word
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. net — after costs
  16. fork — in a road
  17. shower — rain
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. root — of a plant
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. net — in sport
  23. root — the cause
  24. plane — in geometry

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