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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: straw · fork · racket · bay · game · plane · mine · hide

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. game — wild animals
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. game — a match
  17. plane — a tool
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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