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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 · track · lash · file · date · field · temple · wave

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. file — a tool
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. field — a subject
  6. date — the fruit
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. track — a path
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fork — in a road
  13. file — a document
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. field — farmland
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. track — a song
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. track — to keep track
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. field — for sport

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