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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. craft — boats
  3. pit — in a race
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — farmland
  7. can — a tin
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — for sport
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. can — to be able to
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wake — a trail
  20. tear — to rip
  21. board — a committee
  22. can — a tin
  23. pit — a hole
  24. board — to get on

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