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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cap — a lid
  3. degree — from a university
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. mate — to breed
  7. field — farmland
  8. fork — in a road
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cap — a hat
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. degree — an amount

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