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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. field — farmland
  3. kick — in football
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bulb — for light
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. fork — in a road
  10. field — a subject
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wound — an injury
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. swing — music
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. field — for sport
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wound — an injury
  23. swing — in golf
  24. kick — with a leg

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