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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. craft — a skill
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. craft — boats
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. field — a subject
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. field — for sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. last — finally
  11. capital — money
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bound — tied together
  16. last — final
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. field — farmland
  19. bound — certain
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — to go on
  23. bound — obliged
  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