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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. tube — a container
  6. fine — all right
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. band — a music group
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. plane — a tool
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. fine — high quality
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. field — for sport
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. band — a ring

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