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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. field — farmland
  3. drill — the tool
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — for sport
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. staff — employees
  10. field — a subject
  11. spring — of water
  12. perch — the fish
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bear — the animal
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. staff — employees
  18. spring — the season
  19. bear — the animal
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. fork — in a road
  24. spring — a coil

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