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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 · trunk · nail · wind · field · wake · spring · row

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spring — the season
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. row — a line
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. field — a subject
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. spring — of water
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wind — moving air
  18. field — farmland
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fork — in a road
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. field — for sport

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