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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. kid — child
  3. ground — a position
  4. field — for sport
  5. land — to come down
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. land — a country
  8. foot — a measure
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. land — ground
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. field — farmland
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. ground — crushed
  23. field — a subject
  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