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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 124 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. craft — a skill
  4. present — there
  5. field — a subject
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. present — the time now
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. object — a thing
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. field — farmland
  13. branch — a division
  14. craft — boats
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. kid — child
  19. object — to protest
  20. present — a gift
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. field — for sport
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bat — for baseball

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