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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. fine — all right
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. craft — a skill
  5. swing — in golf
  6. file — a line of people
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. swing — music
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. track — a path
  12. track — a song
  13. saw — the tool
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. swing — to play on
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. file — a tool
  20. field — farmland
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. file — a document
  23. track — to keep track
  24. coach — a trainer

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