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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 120 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: field · saw · wind · spell · bat · band · fork · face

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spell — letters
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. field — for sport
  8. spell — magic
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spell — a short time
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. face — to point toward
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. face — to confront
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. face — part of the head
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. bat — in an idiom

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