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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. field — for sport
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — to sink
  6. kick — in football
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. bat — the animal
  13. can — a tin
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. craft — boats
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. kick — with a leg

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