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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. ball — a dance
  3. present — a gift
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. band — a ring
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. craft — a skill
  8. present — there
  9. field — for sport
  10. present — the time now
  11. swing — to play on
  12. ball — a great time
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. band — a music group
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. field — a subject
  18. swing — music
  19. field — farmland
  20. game — a match
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. swing — in golf
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. game — wild animals

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