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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: racket · fork · field · pit · cell · wind

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wind — moving air
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cell — a phone
  7. field — farmland
  8. cell — in biology
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. field — for sport
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. field — a subject
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wind — moving air

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