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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: bulb · scale · fork · stick · field · kid · date · fall

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. scale — in music
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. kid — child
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fall — the season
  11. scale — size or range
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fall — to drop
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. date — the fruit
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. field — a subject
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. fork — in a road

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