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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: toast · mine · file · net · field · bore · fork · stock

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. field — for sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a document
  5. net — after costs
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. fork — in a road
  11. mine — for digging
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. net — for catching
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. stock — goods
  17. toast — bread
  18. bore — to drill
  19. stock — shares
  20. bore — to tire
  21. file — a tool
  22. net — in sport
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stock — a soup base

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