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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. pitch — completely
  3. craft — a skill
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. tube — the underground
  8. rash — hasty
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. field — a subject
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. tube — a container
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. craft — boats
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. swing — music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. shower — rain

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