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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — farmland
  5. fork — in a road
  6. dip — to sink
  7. spring — of water
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. mate — to breed
  13. spring — a coil
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. field — a subject
  17. mate — a partner
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. field — for sport
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. spring — the season
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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