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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. saw — the tool
  5. field — a subject
  6. cap — a lid
  7. current — of water
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. file — a document
  10. cap — of ice
  11. current — electric
  12. cap — a hat
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. field — farmland
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. field — for sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. file — a tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. file — a line of people
  23. current — happening now
  24. fork — in a road

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