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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. face — to point toward
  3. craft — a skill
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. wound — an injury
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. field — for sport
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. craft — boats
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. field — a subject
  13. key — the most important part
  14. sharp — clever
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — part of the head
  17. key — in music
  18. branch — a division
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wound — an injury
  21. key — for a lock
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. branch — of a bank

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