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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. fork — in a road
  5. march — music
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — to tease
  9. field — a subject
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bound — certain
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. kid — child
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. bound — tied together
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cell — in biology
  24. march — the month

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