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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. scale — in music
  3. kick — in football
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. shower — rain
  7. craft — boats
  8. cold — an illness
  9. scale — size or range
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cold — not warm
  12. field — farmland
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. field — for sport
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. field — a subject

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