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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 116 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: trunk · pit · clip · wound · field · fork · key · race

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. field — a subject
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. race — humankind
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. key — the most important part
  9. clip — to cut
  10. key — in music
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pit — in a race
  13. field — for sport
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. race — the arms race
  19. clip — a video
  20. fork — in a road
  21. race — a contest
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — a hole
  24. field — farmland

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