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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. field — for sport
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for golf
  10. field — farmland
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. land — ground
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cold — an illness
  17. club — for dancing
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. field — a subject
  22. craft — boats
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. dip — a sauce

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