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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. march — music
  5. board — a committee
  6. craft — boats
  7. field — for sport
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. file — a document
  10. charge — in control
  11. charge — electricity
  12. march — the month
  13. file — a tool
  14. field — a subject
  15. march — the month
  16. court — of a king
  17. field — farmland
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. charge — a price
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. file — a line of people
  24. craft — a handicraft

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