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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. craft — a skill
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. saw — the tool
  6. field — farmland
  7. vault — a safe
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. cue — a signal
  11. file — a tool
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. file — a document
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cue — for pool
  18. field — a subject
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cue — a hint
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. craft — boats
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. saw — the tool

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