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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. drill — army training
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. swing — music
  5. stem — to come from
  6. clip — for paper
  7. firm — steady
  8. season — of the year
  9. clip — a video
  10. field — for sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. firm — decided
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. swing — to play on
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. field — farmland
  18. firm — a company
  19. fork — in a road
  20. season — in sport
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. swing — in golf
  23. field — a subject
  24. clip — to cut

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