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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. foot — a measure
  3. field — farmland
  4. lie — to recline
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. content — happy
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — to come from
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. fork — in a road
  24. lie — an untruth

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