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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. ground — a position
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ground — the earth
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mine — for digging
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — in an idiom

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