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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. foot — part of the body
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. craft — a skill
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wind — moving air
  9. field — farmland
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — for sport
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. file — a tool
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bulb — for light
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. craft — boats
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cold — an illness
  23. file — a document
  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