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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pit — in a race
  6. craft — a skill
  7. mark — a trace
  8. face — to confront
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. face — to point toward
  13. rash — a series
  14. field — for sport
  15. craft — boats
  16. field — a subject
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. rash — hasty
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wake — a trail
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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