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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cell — in biology
  5. field — farmland
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — final
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. last — finally
  10. band — a music group
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — a subject
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. craft — boats
  15. perch — the fish
  16. board — to get on
  17. kid — child
  18. board — a committee
  19. last — to go on
  20. kid — to tease
  21. craft — a skill
  22. field — for sport
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. board — a flat piece

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