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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. game — a match
  3. ball — a dance
  4. craft — boats
  5. cue — a hint
  6. field — farmland
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. craft — a skill
  9. cue — for pool
  10. rest — what's left
  11. deal — to handle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. field — for sport
  15. row — to paddle
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. rest — a break
  20. cue — a signal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rest — what's left
  23. field — a subject
  24. deal — a big deal

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