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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. craft — a skill
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. board — a committee
  15. foot — a measure
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. board — to get on
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — a video
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. field — farmland
  23. craft — boats
  24. bat — in an idiom

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