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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 120 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: field · saw · bound · kick · fork · degree · wake · pound

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wake — a trail
  3. field — farmland
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. fork — in a road
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bound — obliged
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. kick — in football
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. saw — the 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