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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. prune — to trim
  3. can — a tin
  4. race — humankind
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. squash — the sport
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. field — for sport
  10. can — to be able to
  11. craft — a skill
  12. race — the arms race
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. row — to paddle
  18. prune — to trim
  19. row — a line
  20. craft — boats
  21. race — a contest
  22. can — a tin
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. field — farmland

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