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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 120 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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. field — a subject
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cell — a phone
  9. field — farmland
  10. mark — a grade
  11. last — finally
  12. field — for sport
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. last — to go on
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lie — to recline
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. fork — in a road
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. wound — an injury
  21. last — final
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. mark — a trace

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