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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: field · fork · band · wind · row · spell · date · rash

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. field — a subject
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. field — for sport
  5. spell — magic
  6. wind — moving air
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. band — a music group
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. spell — a short time
  13. rash — a series
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rash — hasty
  16. spell — letters
  17. field — farmland
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. band — a ring
  23. row — a quarrel
  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