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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. dip — to sink
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. track — a song
  17. fork — in a road
  18. plane — a tool
  19. track — to keep track
  20. march — the month
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. track — a path
  23. clip — a video
  24. pound — a weight

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