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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · rock · roll · hide · chest · tear · plane · fork

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. key — in music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. fork — in a road
  7. roll — a list
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. rock — music
  10. tear — to rip
  11. roll — a cake
  12. tear — from crying
  13. key — for a lock
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. chest — a box
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fork — to eat with

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