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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tear — to rip
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. ball — a dance
  10. sharp — clever
  11. field — a subject
  12. current — of water
  13. tear — from crying
  14. current — happening now
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. current — electric
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rest — what's left
  19. craft — a skill
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. field — for sport
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — boats
  24. ball — a round shape

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