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

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. field — farmland
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. field — for sport
  9. content — happy
  10. cell — in biology
  11. field — a subject
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pit — a hole
  14. content — the amount
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pit — in a race
  18. content — videos and posts

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