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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: cap · field · rash · wake · kid · fork · fine · rest

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cap — a hat
  3. field — for sport
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fine — high quality
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. rest — what's left
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. field — a subject
  17. rash — a series
  18. fine — all right
  19. rest — a break
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cap — a lid
  23. kid — child
  24. field — farmland

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