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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. field — for sport
  6. fork — in a road
  7. field — farmland
  8. last — to go on
  9. tear — to rip
  10. field — a subject
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. plane — a tool
  13. pitch — completely
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. rock — a stone
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. rock — music
  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