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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. file — a document
  3. field — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. court — for sport
  7. file — a tool
  8. date — the fruit
  9. club — for golf
  10. field — farmland
  11. fine — all right
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. court — of law
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fork — in a road
  17. file — a line of people
  18. club — for dancing
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. wake — a trail
  23. field — a subject
  24. club — a group

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