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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. craft — a skill
  6. field — for sport
  7. press — to push
  8. field — a subject
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rule — a law
  12. craft — boats
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. row — a line
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rush — hurry
  18. row — to paddle
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rule — government
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kick — in football

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