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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: race · pitcher · sharp · wave · fork · field · spring · pit

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. field — a subject
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. spring — a coil
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. race — a contest
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. field — for sport
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. spring — the season
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. race — humankind
  16. pit — in a race
  17. spring — of water
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. race — the arms race
  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