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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: wake · land · key · fork · file · pit · court · lash

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. court — of law
  3. key — the most important part
  4. court — for sport
  5. file — a document
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pit — in a race
  8. file — a line of people
  9. court — of a king
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — in music
  14. land — to come down
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. land — a country
  17. file — a tool
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. land — ground
  22. pit — a hole
  23. fork — in a road
  24. lash — to lash out

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