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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. field — for sport
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. race — a contest
  7. kid — child
  8. craft — boats
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. rest — what's left
  12. race — the arms race
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. race — humankind
  18. rest — a break
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. rest — what's left
  24. kid — to tease

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