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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: bank · band · tear · kick · spell · field · fork · land

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. field — for sport
  3. fork — in a road
  4. band — a music group
  5. field — farmland
  6. spell — magic
  7. bank — of a river
  8. land — a country
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — ground
  11. band — a ring
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bank — for money
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bank — for money
  18. kick — in football
  19. tear — to rip
  20. field — a subject
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. land — to come down
  24. kick — with a leg

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