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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. craft — boats
  3. hand — in cards
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. board — a committee
  6. field — farmland
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — help
  9. cap — a hat
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. field — a subject
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. clip — for paper
  15. board — to get on
  16. object — to protest
  17. cap — of ice
  18. field — for sport
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cap — a lid
  21. object — a thing
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. craft — a skill
  24. deal — to handle

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