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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. band — a ring
  3. file — a tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. present — a gift
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. mark — a trace
  15. present — there
  16. field — a subject
  17. chair — a leader
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. file — a document
  20. field — farmland
  21. present — the time now
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. field — for sport
  24. fork — a garden tool

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