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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. craft — boats
  3. rest — a break
  4. swing — music
  5. field — for sport
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rest — what's left
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. shower — rain
  12. drill — army training
  13. rest — what's left
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. swing — in golf
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. sharp — clever
  19. swing — to play on
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. field — a subject
  23. craft — a skill
  24. shower — to wash

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