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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: squash · fork · field · content · cap · bark · object · club

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. cap — of ice
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for golf
  6. fork — in a road
  7. field — for sport
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — a lid
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. club — for dancing
  12. content — the amount
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — an aim
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. content — happy
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. object — a thing
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bark — to shout
  24. fork — a garden tool

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