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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. field — a subject
  3. wound — an injury
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. spring — of water
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fork — in a road
  14. kid — child
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. field — for sport
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. plane — a tool
  21. field — farmland
  22. spring — the season
  23. kid — to tease
  24. plane — an aircraft

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