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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. kid — child
  6. fine — high quality
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fine — all right
  11. fork — in a road
  12. drill — a practice
  13. field — a subject
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. field — for sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. drill — army training
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. wax — to grow

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