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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 120 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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. field — a subject
  3. ground — the earth
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. craft — a skill
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — for sport
  13. snap — to click
  14. clip — a video
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. field — farmland
  19. craft — boats
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. perch — the fish
  23. clip — to cut
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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