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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — child
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bass — the fish
  7. land — to come down
  8. bass — low music
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. land — a country
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. sharp — clever
  14. field — for sport
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. wound — an injury
  21. craft — a skill
  22. kid — to tease
  23. land — ground
  24. craft — boats

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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