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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. kid — child
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. scale — in music
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. scale — size or range
  8. race — humankind
  9. craft — boats
  10. race — the arms race
  11. field — farmland
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. kid — to tease
  14. present — a gift
  15. field — a subject
  16. prune — to trim
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. race — a contest
  20. field — for sport
  21. present — the time now
  22. prune — to trim
  23. present — there
  24. trunk — of a tree

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