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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. field — farmland
  4. stand — to bear
  5. prune — to trim
  6. field — for sport
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chair — a leader
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. snap — to click
  15. field — a subject
  16. craft — a skill
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. craft — boats
  19. tube — a container
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. sharp — clever
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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