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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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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: cue · saw · wound · ball · spring · field · fork · fine

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. saw — the tool
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cue — a signal
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fine — all right
  20. cue — for pool
  21. spring — of water
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. field — a subject
  24. cue — a hint

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