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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. field — farmland
  3. present — the time now
  4. file — a document
  5. dip — to sink
  6. craft — a skill
  7. file — a tool
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. craft — boats
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — a subject
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. present — a gift
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — for sport
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. present — there
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. dip — to dunk

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