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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: fork · pitcher · mark · snap · field · wound · foot · roll

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wound — an injury
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. field — farmland
  11. foot — a measure
  12. field — for sport
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. field — a subject
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — a grade
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to click
  20. roll — a list
  21. roll — a cake
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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