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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. field — for sport
  5. drill — army training
  6. court — for sport
  7. march — the month
  8. court — of law
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. march — music
  13. field — farmland
  14. drill — the tool
  15. march — the month
  16. court — of a king
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. field — a subject
  24. mouse — the animal

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