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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. snap — to click
  9. mark — a grade
  10. craft — boats
  11. field — farmland
  12. wound — an injury
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pound — a weight
  19. field — a subject
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. mark — a trace
  22. roll — a cake
  23. field — for sport
  24. wound — an injury

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