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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bulb — for light
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bound — obliged
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pit — in a race
  9. field — farmland
  10. spell — a short time
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. field — for sport
  15. spell — magic
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. field — a subject
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. spell — letters

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