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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. field — a subject
  3. season — in sport
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bat — the animal
  6. file — a document
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. snap — to click
  10. field — for sport
  11. craft — boats
  12. field — farmland
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. season — of the year
  16. craft — a skill
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. roll — a list
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — on a roll

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