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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fine — high quality
  3. object — an aim
  4. present — a gift
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. swing — music
  7. rash — a series
  8. present — there
  9. saw — the tool
  10. swing — in golf
  11. field — farmland
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — a thing
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rash — hasty
  17. fine — all right
  18. swing — to play on
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. present — the time now
  22. fork — in a road
  23. field — a subject
  24. saw — the tool

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