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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pass — a permit
  12. field — farmland
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tear — to rip
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. craft — a skill
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. tear — from crying
  23. toast — bread
  24. cold — an illness

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