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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. kid — child
  4. scale — in music
  5. firm — decided
  6. club — for golf
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. present — a gift
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. firm — steady
  11. field — a subject
  12. club — a group
  13. craft — a skill
  14. present — the time now
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. capital — money
  18. club — for dancing
  19. present — there
  20. craft — boats
  21. firm — a company
  22. capital — a city
  23. field — for sport
  24. scale — size or range

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