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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spell — letters
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. spell — magic
  7. field — for sport
  8. file — a document
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. can — a tin
  11. file — a line of people
  12. swing — in golf
  13. spell — a short time
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. file — a tool
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fork — in a road
  21. scale — in music
  22. field — farmland
  23. fall — the season
  24. field — a subject

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