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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. spell — letters
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. charge — in control
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. craft — boats
  10. charge — a price
  11. spell — magic
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — a short time
  18. charge — electricity
  19. field — a subject
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. field — for sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. craft — a skill

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