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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. roll — a list
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. field — farmland
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. roll — a cake
  16. capital — a city
  17. fork — in a road
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. field — a subject
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. field — for sport

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