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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. roll — a cake
  3. field — farmland
  4. fork — in a road
  5. current — electric
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. roll — a list
  8. hand — in cards
  9. saw — the tool
  10. file — a tool
  11. field — for sport
  12. current — of water
  13. field — a subject
  14. file — a line of people
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. file — a document
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. current — happening now
  24. fork — to eat with

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