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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. key — in music
  3. rest — what's left
  4. field — a subject
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — farmland
  8. game — a match
  9. fork — in a road
  10. key — for a lock
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rest — what's left
  14. saw — the tool
  15. key — the most important part
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rest — a break
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. field — for sport

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