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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 120 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. prune — to trim
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wound — an injury
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. field — a subject
  8. degree — an amount
  9. craft — a skill
  10. charge — electricity
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. craft — boats
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. field — for sport
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. charge — in control
  19. field — farmland
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. charge — a price
  24. safe — a strongbox

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