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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cap — of ice
  6. rest — what's left
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. game — a match
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. craft — boats
  11. field — a subject
  12. band — a ring
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. band — a music group
  19. rest — a break
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. plane — a tool
  23. field — for sport
  24. game — wild animals

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