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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bass — low music
  5. fall — the season
  6. craft — boats
  7. fall — to drop
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. field — a subject
  11. pit — a hole
  12. craft — a skill
  13. field — farmland
  14. fall — to drop
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. drill — army training
  20. mine — for digging
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pit — in a race

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