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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. march — the month
  5. field — for sport
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. fork — in a road
  8. field — a subject
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. march — music
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. ground — a position
  14. sharp — clever
  15. march — the month
  16. band — a music group
  17. ground — crushed
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. band — a ring
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a skill

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