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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cue — a hint
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. dip — to sink
  8. spring — of water
  9. field — for sport
  10. cue — a signal
  11. field — farmland
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. lean — thin
  15. field — a subject
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. craft — boats
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cue — for pool
  23. craft — a skill
  24. kid — child

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