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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. ground — the earth
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. field — farmland
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — for sport
  9. march — the month
  10. fine — all right
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. field — a subject
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — high quality
  16. ground — crushed
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. craft — boats
  21. capital — money
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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