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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: row · chip · rest · date · field · band · fork · stem

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. field — farmland
  3. band — a music group
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. field — for sport
  6. chip — for betting
  7. row — a line
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. band — a ring
  10. stem — to come from
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rest — what's left
  14. field — a subject
  15. rest — a break
  16. date — the fruit
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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