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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. stem — to come from
  5. clip — a video
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — to cut
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. fork — in a road
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. march — music
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. plane — a tool
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. march — the month
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. hide — to keep secret

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