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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. last — to go on
  3. field — farmland
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. field — for sport
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. last — final
  10. field — a subject
  11. craft — boats
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bound — tied together
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. last — finally
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bass — the fish
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. craft — a skill
  20. bound — obliged
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. capital — a city
  24. bound — certain

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