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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. craft — boats
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. craft — a skill
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. shower — rain
  12. cap — a hat
  13. field — farmland
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cap — of ice
  16. field — for sport
  17. bass — low music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. scale — for weighing

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