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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. field — farmland
  5. craft — boats
  6. field — for sport
  7. craft — a skill
  8. face — to confront
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bore — to tire
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. file — a document
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cell — in biology
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bore — to drill
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. face — to point toward
  20. file — a tool
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. branch — a division
  24. face — part of the head

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