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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. field — for sport
  3. pass — a permit
  4. drill — army training
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. spring — a coil
  7. field — farmland
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bear — the animal
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. drill — the tool
  13. race — humankind
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. race — a contest
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bear — the animal
  19. race — the arms race
  20. degree — temperature
  21. drill — a practice
  22. field — a subject
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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