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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bound — obliged
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. craft — boats
  6. bound — tied together
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. mark — a trace
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. field — a subject
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. mark — a grade
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. field — farmland
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. field — for sport
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bound — certain

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