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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: fork · tear · club · march · mouse · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. field — for sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. march — the month
  7. field — a subject
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fork — in a road
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. march — the month
  15. club — for golf
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. club — a group
  18. march — music

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