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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. field — farmland
  4. suit — in cards
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. capital — a city
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. field — a subject
  11. suit — to fit
  12. bulb — for light
  13. field — for sport
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — money
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wake — a trail
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. suit — clothes
  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