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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — a skill
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. land — ground
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cap — a lid
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cap — of ice
  10. craft — boats
  11. field — farmland
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. perch — the fish
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. field — for sport
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pit — a hole
  20. land — a country
  21. field — a subject
  22. land — to come down
  23. pit — in a race
  24. cap — a hat

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