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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. shower — rain
  4. prune — to trim
  5. last — to go on
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. land — a country
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. shower — to wash
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. land — to come down
  13. plane — a tool
  14. net — after costs
  15. land — ground
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. net — in sport
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fork — in a road
  21. last — final
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. prune — to trim
  24. last — finally

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