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

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cue — a signal
  3. kid — child
  4. cue — a hint
  5. pass — a permit
  6. cue — for pool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. field — a subject
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — for sport
  13. fork — in a road
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. field — farmland
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wind — to turn a key

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