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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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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: plane · fork · snap · wound · kid · leaves · rest · pitch

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. snap — to click
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. rest — what's left
  11. kid — child
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. fork — in a road
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. plane — a tool

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