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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 116 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. craft — boats
  3. field — for sport
  4. spell — magic
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — to eat
  7. spell — a short time
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — child
  10. craft — a skill
  11. field — farmland
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. rest — what's left
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. net — for catching
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rest — what's left
  18. lie — to recline
  19. kid — to tease
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — in sport
  22. spell — letters
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lie — an untruth

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