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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cold — an illness
  6. craft — boats
  7. mate — to breed
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. lean — to bend
  10. field — a subject
  11. band — a ring
  12. row — to paddle
  13. lean — thin
  14. mate — a partner
  15. craft — a skill
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. band — a music group
  18. field — for sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. mate — a friend
  23. row — a line
  24. snap — to click

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