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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. field — farmland
  4. tube — the underground
  5. field — for sport
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. field — a subject
  13. craft — boats
  14. cell — in biology
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. lie — to recline
  19. rush — hurry
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. spell — a short time

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