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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 120 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — in a road
  4. field — a subject
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. field — farmland
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. vault — a safe
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — electric
  19. field — for sport
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. current — of water
  22. snap — to click
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fork — to eat with

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