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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 120 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
468
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: bat · cell · fork · bark · can · track · ground · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bat — the animal
  3. track — to keep track
  4. can — a tin
  5. fork — in a road
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bark — to shout
  8. field — farmland
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. field — for sport
  11. ground — the earth
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. can — a tin
  19. track — a path
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. ground — a position
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. track — a song

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