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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. field — farmland
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. staff — a stick
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. staff — employees
  10. sharp — clever
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. plane — a tool
  13. field — a subject
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. staff — employees
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — for sport
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fork — in a road
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. saw — the tool

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