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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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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: chest · shower · sharp · field · plane · firm · bore · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bore — to drill
  4. shower — rain
  5. fork — in a road
  6. firm — a company
  7. field — farmland
  8. firm — steady
  9. chest — of your body
  10. shower — to wash
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. firm — decided
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. plane — a tool
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bore — to tire
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. field — a subject
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. field — for sport

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