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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. craft — boats
  3. object — to protest
  4. last — finally
  5. object — an aim
  6. clip — for paper
  7. last — to go on
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. clip — to cut
  11. saw — the tool
  12. clip — a video
  13. charge — electricity
  14. field — a subject
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. rash — a series
  17. charge — in control
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. last — final
  20. charge — a price
  21. craft — a skill
  22. object — a thing
  23. field — for sport
  24. saw — the tool

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