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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: leaves · deal · temple · field · snap · pitch · bore · fork

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. field — farmland
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. field — a subject
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. deal — to handle
  17. field — for sport
  18. snap — to click
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. pitch — completely

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