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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're almost out of ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. land — a country
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. land — to come down
  6. field — a subject
  7. mark — a trace
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. rash — a series
  10. land — ground
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. field — for sport
  13. rash — hasty
  14. last — finally
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. field — farmland
  20. fork — in a road
  21. pop — music
  22. mark — a grade
  23. pop — to visit
  24. trunk — of a tree

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