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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. field — a subject
  4. season — of the year
  5. pop — music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pop — to visit
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. season — in sport
  12. field — for sport
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. hand — help
  15. field — farmland
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pop — soda
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. hand — in cards
  24. chair — to sit on

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