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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. scale — in music
  4. spring — the season
  5. spell — letters
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. scale — size or range
  11. spell — magic
  12. kick — in football
  13. spell — a short time
  14. fork — in a road
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bore — to tire
  18. spring — a coil
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. spring — of water
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. hide — animal skin

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