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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. field — for sport
  4. ground — the earth
  5. track — to keep track
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. field — farmland
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. ground — a position
  12. fork — in a road
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. field — a subject
  15. hand — in cards
  16. row — a line
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. track — a song
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. track — a path
  23. hand — help
  24. row — to paddle

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