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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. net — for catching
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. chair — a leader
  12. net — in sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. clip — for paper
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. clip — a video
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. field — for sport
  21. clip — to cut
  22. field — farmland
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. net — after costs

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