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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. craft — a skill
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bass — low music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bass — the fish
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. field — a subject
  19. craft — boats
  20. pit — a hole
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to click
  24. pit — in a race

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