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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. craft — boats
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. field — for sport
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. field — a subject
  9. tear — from crying
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. field — farmland
  12. tear — to rip
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. march — music
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. march — the month
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. march — the month
  23. craft — a skill
  24. scale — for weighing

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