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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fine — high quality
  10. field — a subject
  11. spring — of water
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — all right
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. spring — the season
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. spring — a coil
  24. squash — the 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