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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pop — soda
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. march — the month
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. shower — rain
  7. field — for sport
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. march — the month
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. pop — to visit
  12. fork — in a road
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. squash — the sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. shower — to wash
  20. march — music
  21. field — a subject
  22. pop — music
  23. squash — to crush
  24. fan — to cool the air

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