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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. kid — child
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. field — for sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. ground — the earth
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. kid — to tease
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. band — a ring
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. charge — a price
  18. ground — a position
  19. charge — in control
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rush — hurry
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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