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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. kid — to tease
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wake — a trail
  11. file — a tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. craft — a skill
  15. kid — child
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. field — for sport
  23. craft — boats
  24. file — a document

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