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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bound — tied together
  4. field — for sport
  5. ground — a position
  6. bound — obliged
  7. club — for dancing
  8. ground — crushed
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rock — a stone
  11. field — farmland
  12. club — a group
  13. bound — certain
  14. craft — boats
  15. club — for golf
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. ground — the earth
  21. stem — to come from
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. field — a subject
  24. stem — a stem cell

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