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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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. field — a subject
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. tear — from crying
  5. field — for sport
  6. rash — a series
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. tear — to rip
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. season — in sport
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. field — farmland
  20. plane — a tool
  21. season — of the year
  22. craft — a skill
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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