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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. field — for sport
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. craft — a skill
  6. field — farmland
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. capital — a city
  13. club — a group
  14. craft — boats
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wax — to grow
  17. club — for golf
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. field — a subject
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. capital — money
  23. kid — child
  24. craft — a handicraft

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