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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. spring — of water
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cell — in biology
  6. craft — boats
  7. kick — in football
  8. plane — a tool
  9. ground — crushed
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. spring — the season
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. ground — a position
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fork — in a road
  21. spring — a coil
  22. ground — the earth
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cell — a phone

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