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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: stick · net · date · cold · lean · wave · fork · field

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. net — in sport
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. field — for sport
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. net — for catching
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. net — after costs
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. field — farmland
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. field — a subject
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lean — to bend
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. lean — thin
  24. date — on the calendar

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