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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. last — to go on
  3. lean — to bend
  4. shower — to wash
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. chair — a leader
  10. craft — boats
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. field — for sport
  13. lean — thin
  14. shower — rain
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. field — a subject
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. craft — a skill
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. last — final
  23. degree — temperature
  24. last — finally

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