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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. field — farmland
  3. mate — to breed
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. land — to come down
  6. craft — a skill
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chair — a leader
  10. craft — boats
  11. last — final
  12. land — a country
  13. field — a subject
  14. land — ground
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. last — to go on
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. field — for sport
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. fall — to drop

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