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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. press — a publisher
  8. field — farmland
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. press — to push
  12. press — newspapers
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cold — not warm
  15. field — for sport
  16. mark — a trace
  17. field — a subject
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. craft — a handicraft

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