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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rest — what's left
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. rest — what's left
  5. lean — thin
  6. field — for sport
  7. lean — to bend
  8. craft — boats
  9. spell — magic
  10. row — a line
  11. tear — to rip
  12. march — music
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. march — the month
  16. field — farmland
  17. tear — from crying
  18. field — a subject
  19. row — to paddle
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spell — a short time
  22. craft — a skill
  23. march — the month
  24. rest — a break

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