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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 120 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. hand — help
  5. swing — music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. ball — a dance
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. craft — a skill
  10. field — a subject
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bore — to tire
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bore — to drill
  17. ball — a great time
  18. chair — a leader
  19. field — farmland
  20. hand — in cards
  21. field — for sport
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. race — the arms race
  24. swing — in golf

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