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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mate — a friend
  4. fork — in a road
  5. field — for sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. field — farmland
  9. march — music
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. march — the month
  19. field — a subject
  20. march — the month
  21. squash — the sport
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mate — to breed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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