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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mate — a partner
  3. craft — boats
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bulb — for light
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. hand — in cards
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. field — farmland
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mate — to breed
  18. fall — the season
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. fall — to drop
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. foot — a measure

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