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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 120 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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. craft — a skill
  3. tube — a container
  4. fall — the season
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fine — all right
  7. saw — the tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. craft — boats
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. fall — to drop
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bat — the animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fine — high quality
  19. saw — the tool
  20. fall — to drop
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. field — a subject

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