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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: content · safe · cold · bore · fine · pit · fork · field

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. content — happy
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pit — a hole
  8. field — for sport
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. fine — all right
  13. fork — in a road
  14. content — the amount
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bore — to tire
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bore — to drill
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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