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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — a thing
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pop — music
  6. field — for sport
  7. court — for sport
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. court — of a king
  13. stem — to come from
  14. object — to protest
  15. court — of law
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — in a race
  19. field — a subject
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. field — farmland
  22. fork — in a road
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. fork — to eat with

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