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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. hand — help
  7. craft — a skill
  8. fine — high quality
  9. rash — a series
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wind — moving air
  14. field — a subject
  15. shower — rain
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — all right
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wind — moving air
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. hand — in cards
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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