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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. field — farmland
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. mug — a cup
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. fork — in a road
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a face
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — a subject
  19. prune — to trim
  20. field — for sport
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. board — to get on
  24. calf — a young animal

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