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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. present — the time now
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. spring — a coil
  6. suit — to fit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. present — a gift
  10. spring — the season
  11. suit — in cards
  12. snap — to click
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. vault — a safe
  15. degree — from a university
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. spring — of water
  18. suit — clothes
  19. degree — temperature
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. present — there
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. fork — in a road

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