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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. current — of water
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. current — electric
  7. pitch — completely
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. current — happening now
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bear — the animal
  19. plane — a tool
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. spring — of water
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spring — the season

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