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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bound — obliged
  5. field — farmland
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rest — what's left
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rest — what's left
  10. field — for sport
  11. bound — tied together
  12. present — a gift
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rest — a break
  15. present — there
  16. tube — a container
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bound — certain
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. present — the time now
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cold — an illness
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. field — a subject

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