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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. swing — music
  4. saw — the tool
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fall — to drop
  8. kid — child
  9. fall — the season
  10. field — farmland
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bore — to drill
  13. craft — boats
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bore — to tire
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. field — a subject
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. field — for sport
  24. fan — a supporter

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