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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. 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. field — a subject
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. field — farmland
  5. fork — in a road
  6. game — a match
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wax — to grow
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. 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