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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. suit — clothes
  8. mark — a grade
  9. suit — to fit
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. field — a subject
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — farmland
  15. fork — in a road
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kid — child
  20. suit — in cards
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mark — a trace
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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