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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fall — the season
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. craft — a skill
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — government
  12. craft — boats
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bat — the animal
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fall — to drop
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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