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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — a city
  7. craft — a skill
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. march — the month
  15. capital — money
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. field — a subject
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. march — music
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. snap — to click

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