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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. game — a match
  3. fork — in a road
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. craft — a skill
  6. track — a song
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. field — a subject
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. field — for sport
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. capital — a city
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. track — a path
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. track — to keep track
  18. game — wild animals
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. capital — money
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. craft — boats
  24. field — farmland

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