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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. plane — a tool
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. prune — to trim
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. prune — to trim
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fork — in a road
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. scale — size or range
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fall — the season
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fall — to drop
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. kick — in football

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