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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. foot — a measure
  3. stand — to bear
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. field — a subject
  6. lie — to recline
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. chest — of your body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. shower — to wash
  15. chest — a box
  16. date — the fruit
  17. field — for sport
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. craft — a skill
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. chest — of your body
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. field — farmland

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