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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. field — farmland
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — boats
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. lean — to bend
  8. clip — to cut
  9. field — for sport
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. lean — thin
  15. toast — bread
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. field — a subject
  22. clip — for paper
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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