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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. rock — music
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bear — the animal
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chair — a leader
  8. game — a match
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rock — a stone
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. field — a subject
  14. bear — the animal
  15. craft — a skill
  16. lean — thin
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. field — farmland
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. field — for sport
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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