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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. 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. tear — from crying
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. rule — a law
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. craft — boats
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rule — government
  12. craft — a skill
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. 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