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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. drill — a practice
  4. craft — a skill
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. hand — help
  7. drill — army training
  8. march — music
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. drill — the tool
  11. rush — hurry
  12. field — farmland
  13. dip — to sink
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — boats
  16. lean — thin
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. lean — to bend
  20. march — the month
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. march — the month

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