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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. field — a subject
  5. ground — crushed
  6. court — for sport
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. court — of law
  13. degree — an amount
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. craft — boats
  16. snap — to click
  17. ground — a position
  18. craft — a skill
  19. ground — the earth
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. field — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. field — farmland

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