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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pop — music
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a dance
  10. pop — to visit
  11. fork — in a road
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. chest — of your body
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. field — farmland
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. pop — soda
  21. rash — a series
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. trunk — of a car

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