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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.

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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: pit · perch · hand · rule · mouse · field · fork · stand

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. pit — a hole
  4. hand — help
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. fork — in a road
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pit — in a race
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. field — for sport
  15. rule — government
  16. perch — the fish
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. field — a subject
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. rule — a law
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. field — farmland
  23. hand — in cards
  24. fork — to eat with

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