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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. field — a subject
  3. rock — music
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rock — a stone
  9. craft — boats
  10. swing — music
  11. object — a thing
  12. swing — to play on
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. object — to protest
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. field — farmland
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. object — an aim
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. field — for sport
  23. cold — an illness
  24. craft — a skill

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