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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. lie — to recline
  6. spring — of water
  7. field — a subject
  8. race — the arms race
  9. land — ground
  10. race — humankind
  11. field — for sport
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fork — in a road
  14. race — a contest
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. land — to come down
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. land — a country
  22. plane — a tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. fan — a supporter

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