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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. craft — a skill
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. field — a subject
  6. kick — in football
  7. court — of a king
  8. squash — to crush
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. field — farmland
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. field — for sport
  13. craft — boats
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. court — of law
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. sharp — clever
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. squash — the sport
  23. date — the fruit
  24. court — for sport

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