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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fine — all right
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fork — in a road
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wax — to grow
  8. field — farmland
  9. chip — for betting
  10. root — of a word
  11. chip — to eat
  12. track — a path
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. root — of a plant
  15. track — a song
  16. field — for sport
  17. root — the cause
  18. fine — high quality
  19. shower — rain
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. field — a subject
  22. shower — to wash
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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