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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. wind — moving air
  7. file — a line of people
  8. fork — in a road
  9. stock — goods
  10. file — a document
  11. present — the time now
  12. march — music
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. march — the month
  18. file — a tool
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. stock — shares
  22. foot — a measure
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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