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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. craft — boats
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cell — in biology
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. field — farmland
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. field — for sport
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. craft — a skill
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. spring — of water
  16. cell — a phone
  17. dip — to sink
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. game — wild animals
  20. field — a subject
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. game — a match
  24. race — a contest

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