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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. file — a tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. wake — a trail
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. kid — child
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. file — a line of people
  12. field — for sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. field — a subject
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. field — farmland
  24. file — a document

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