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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 116 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. pit — in a race
  3. kid — child
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pit — a hole
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. field — a subject
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wake — a trail
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. field — for sport
  21. chair — a leader
  22. last — finally
  23. chair — a professorship
  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