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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bound — certain
  5. chest — a box
  6. field — for sport
  7. fork — in a road
  8. key — for a lock
  9. stock — goods
  10. field — a subject
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. key — in music
  14. bound — tied together
  15. key — the most important part
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. field — farmland
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. kid — to tease

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