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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. field — a subject
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. field — for sport
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. craft — a skill
  13. field — farmland
  14. craft — boats
  15. chip — to eat
  16. rock — a stone
  17. chip — for betting
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. row — to paddle

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