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

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. field — a subject
  3. fine — high quality
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — for sport
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bat — the animal
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. craft — a skill
  12. field — farmland
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. capital — money
  17. fine — all right
  18. craft — boats

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