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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 116 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. net — in sport
  3. ground — crushed
  4. current — happening now
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. current — of water
  9. field — a subject
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hand — in cards
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fork — in a road
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. current — electric
  22. ground — a position
  23. field — farmland
  24. ground — the earth

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