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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. drill — army training
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. field — for sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. field — farmland
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wound — an injury
  14. band — a music group
  15. craft — boats
  16. field — a subject
  17. drill — a practice
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. saw — the tool
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. game — a match
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. drill — the tool
  24. band — a ring

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