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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: fork · mark · field · row · kid · spring · mine · pit

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — in a road
  3. row — a line
  4. spring — of water
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. field — a subject
  9. mark — a trace
  10. spring — a coil
  11. field — for sport
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. field — farmland
  14. kid — child
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — in a race
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mark — a grade
  22. spring — the season
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. mine — an explosive

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