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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. march — the month
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. ground — crushed
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. spring — the season
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. march — the month
  10. ground — the earth
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spring — a coil
  13. march — music
  14. ground — a position
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. spring — of water
  21. file — a tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. file — a document
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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