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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. field — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. craft — boats
  5. present — there
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. present — the time now
  9. press — newspapers
  10. field — a subject
  11. court — for sport
  12. press — a publisher
  13. present — a gift
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. root — the cause
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. file — a tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. file — a document
  20. court — of a king
  21. press — to push
  22. file — a line of people
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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