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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. field — a subject
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. field — for sport
  9. key — the most important part
  10. fork — in a road
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. clip — a video
  16. key — for a lock
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. mate — a partner
  19. clip — for paper
  20. key — in music
  21. mate — a friend
  22. clip — to cut
  23. field — farmland
  24. mate — to breed

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