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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. ball — a great time
  3. field — farmland
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. last — final
  7. field — a subject
  8. sharp — clever
  9. last — finally
  10. snap — to click
  11. field — for sport
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. craft — a skill
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. last — to go on
  16. club — for golf
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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