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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: squash · club · wound · field · patient · fork · cap · race

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wound — an injury
  4. field — a subject
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. cap — of ice
  9. club — a group
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. field — farmland
  12. race — a contest
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. field — for sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cap — a hat
  18. club — for golf
  19. race — humankind
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cap — a lid
  22. club — for dancing
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. race — the arms race

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