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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. hand — help
  6. court — of law
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. court — of a king
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. spell — a short time
  13. sharp — clever
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. court — for sport
  19. spell — letters
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. spell — magic

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