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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 · stand · bank · field · degree · mine · cell · rash

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. degree — temperature
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. field — farmland
  8. bank — for money
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bank — for money
  11. field — a subject
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — to bear
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cell — a phone
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. degree — an amount
  22. field — for sport
  23. bank — of a river
  24. stand — for spectators

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