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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. pit — a hole
  5. craft — a skill
  6. net — in sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. kid — to tease
  9. field — a subject
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. craft — boats
  14. march — music
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. march — the month
  17. net — for catching
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pit — in a race
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. field — for sport
  22. kid — child
  23. march — the month
  24. net — after costs

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