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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: temple · hide · ground · mine · wave · snap · fork · scale

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mine — for digging
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. ground — a position
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. scale — in music
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. snap — to click
  12. ground — the earth
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. fork — in a road
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. mine — belonging to me

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