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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. land — ground
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. can — a tin
  8. mark — a grade
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. file — a document
  11. land — a country
  12. file — a tool
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. file — a line of people
  15. field — a subject
  16. land — to come down
  17. staff — employees
  18. can — to be able to
  19. can — a tin
  20. mark — a trace
  21. staff — a stick
  22. field — farmland
  23. staff — employees
  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