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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. rock — music
  3. field — for sport
  4. last — final
  5. cue — for pool
  6. rock — a stone
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bat — the animal
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cue — a signal
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. last — to go on
  16. present — the time now
  17. field — a subject
  18. last — finally
  19. field — farmland
  20. suit — in cards
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. present — there
  23. craft — boats
  24. cue — a hint

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