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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. key — in music
  3. ground — crushed
  4. field — farmland
  5. ground — the earth
  6. cap — a hat
  7. spring — of water
  8. field — a subject
  9. wake — a trail
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. craft — boats
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — the most important part
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cap — of ice
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. ground — a position
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. field — for sport
  24. net — in sport

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