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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: land · bay · trunk · field · snap · fork · bowl · wind

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. snap — to click
  8. land — a country
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. land — to come down
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. field — for sport
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. field — a subject
  18. fork — in a road
  19. field — farmland
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bowl — a dish

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