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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. can — a tin
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. club — for dancing
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. sharp — clever
  14. plane — a tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. club — a group
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bat — the animal
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. field — farmland

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