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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. field — a subject
  3. sharp — clever
  4. game — a match
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — help
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. race — a contest
  15. field — farmland
  16. race — the arms race
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. game — wild animals
  20. hand — in cards
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. field — for sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. craft — boats

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