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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 116 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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. suit — to fit
  3. field — for sport
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. capital — a city
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. suit — clothes
  14. last — finally
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. suit — in cards
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. craft — a skill

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