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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bank — for money
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. drill — a practice
  7. field — a subject
  8. rock — music
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. face — to point toward
  11. net — in sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bank — for money
  15. net — for catching
  16. craft — boats
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bank — of a river
  19. net — after costs
  20. face — to confront
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bat — the animal

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