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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 116 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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. hide — animal skin
  4. field — farmland
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. plane — a tool
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. field — for sport
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. pound — a weight
  14. sharp — clever
  15. fork — in a road
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. fall — to drop
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. field — a subject
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fork — to eat with

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