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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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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. roll — a cake
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. roll — a list
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. drill — the tool
  14. plane — a tool
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. drill — army training
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. fork — in a road
  24. trunk — of a tree

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