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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. firm — a company
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rest — what's left
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. firm — steady
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. firm — decided
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rest — what's left
  15. kid — child
  16. rest — a break
  17. field — for sport
  18. sharp — clever
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cap — a lid
  21. field — farmland
  22. cap — a hat
  23. field — a subject
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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