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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: mine · rush · present · fork · bowl · field · season · rash

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. field — a subject
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rash — hasty
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. present — the time now
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. field — for sport
  11. rash — a series
  12. field — farmland
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. present — there
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. present — a gift
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. rash — on the skin

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