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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cap — a hat
  3. field — a subject
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. bound — certain
  8. field — farmland
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rash — a series
  11. craft — boats
  12. rash — hasty
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bound — obliged
  15. field — for sport
  16. bound — tied together
  17. craft — a skill
  18. bat — the animal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cap — of ice
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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