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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. staff — employees
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bank — for money
  14. field — a subject
  15. bore — to drill
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bore — to tire
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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