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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. field — a subject
  3. lean — thin
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. field — farmland
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. saw — the tool
  9. scale — in music
  10. field — for sport
  11. game — a match
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mate — a friend
  15. craft — a skill
  16. mate — to breed
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. lean — to bend
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — boats
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mate — a partner
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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