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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: fork · tear · rest · field · straw · mate

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mate — a friend
  8. field — for sport
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. mate — to breed
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tear — from crying
  14. field — a subject
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mate — a partner

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