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

Word bank: field · chair · kid · fork · object · pound

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. field — for sport
  3. object — a thing
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — a subject
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pound — a weight
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — to protest
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. field — farmland
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. kid — child
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chair — to sit on

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