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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. date — the fruit
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. field — for sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. current — electric
  8. fork — in a road
  9. current — happening now
  10. field — farmland
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. ball — a great time
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. content — the amount
  17. mine — for digging
  18. content — happy
  19. current — of water
  20. field — a subject
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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