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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  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. craft — a handicraft
  2. field — a subject
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. craft — a skill
  5. lean — thin
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. lean — to bend
  9. kid — to tease
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. shower — rain
  14. field — farmland
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. row — a line
  19. snap — to click
  20. craft — boats
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. kid — child
  23. stand — to bear
  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