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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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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. suit — in cards
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. fork — in a road
  7. craft — a skill
  8. field — for sport
  9. craft — boats
  10. suit — to fit
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. field — farmland
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ball — a great time
  17. roll — a cake
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. degree — an amount
  21. suit — clothes
  22. field — a subject
  23. degree — temperature
  24. roll — a list

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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