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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 124 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bat — the animal
  5. field — for sport
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. field — a subject
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bound — obliged
  16. hand — help
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. pound — a weight
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. rash — hasty
  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