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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — in a road
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rash — a series
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. land — a country
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. field — farmland
  12. chair — a leader
  13. hand — help
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — for sport
  17. hand — in cards
  18. land — to come down
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rash — hasty
  23. field — a subject
  24. land — ground

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