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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. field — for sport
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. drill — a practice
  11. press — to push
  12. craft — a skill
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rock — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. field — a subject
  19. rock — a stone
  20. drill — the tool
  21. field — farmland
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. press — a publisher
  24. sharp — clever

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