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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. craft — a skill
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spell — letters
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. craft — boats
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. field — for sport
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. spell — a short time
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. field — farmland
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spell — magic
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. field — a subject
  24. bat — the animal

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