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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. rest — a break
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. field — farmland
  6. fork — in a road
  7. kid — to tease
  8. field — a subject
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. field — for sport
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. court — of a king
  14. file — a document
  15. mate — to breed
  16. kid — child
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rest — what's left
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — a partner
  24. calf — a young animal

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