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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. roll — a list
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. roll — a cake
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fork — in a road
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bat — the animal
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. row — to paddle
  12. field — for sport
  13. band — a ring
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. row — a line
  16. band — a music group
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. row — a quarrel

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