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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. field — farmland
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. field — a subject
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. kid — child
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mark — a grade
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mark — a trace
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fork — in a road
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. field — for sport
  24. mouse — the animal

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