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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — a video
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. field — for sport
  7. rash — hasty
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bear — the animal
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. craft — a skill
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. clip — for paper
  14. craft — boats
  15. bear — the animal
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. staff — a stick
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rash — a series
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. field — a subject
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. staff — employees
  24. sharp — clever

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