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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. field — farmland
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. staff — employees
  4. field — a subject
  5. fall — to drop
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fall — to drop
  9. craft — a skill
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. cap — of ice
  12. kid — child
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. game — a match
  17. field — for sport
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. craft — boats
  23. fall — the season
  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