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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bat — the animal
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. row — a line
  8. craft — boats
  9. field — a subject
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. lean — thin
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. field — for sport
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kick — in football
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. rock — music
  18. craft — a skill
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. field — farmland
  22. row — to paddle
  23. prune — to trim
  24. lean — to bend

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