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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. craft — a skill
  6. last — final
  7. field — a subject
  8. last — to go on
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. present — there
  12. ground — crushed
  13. field — for sport
  14. present — the time now
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. craft — boats
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. field — farmland
  19. ground — a position
  20. last — finally
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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