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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. net — after costs
  5. charge — a price
  6. fork — in a road
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. net — for catching
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wake — a trail
  12. charge — electricity
  13. field — a subject
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. field — for sport
  17. charge — in control
  18. net — in sport
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. deal — to handle
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. field — farmland

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