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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. swing — to play on
  3. can — a tin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. cold — not warm
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. field — a subject
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. craft — a skill
  13. row — to paddle
  14. field — farmland
  15. swing — music
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. swing — in golf
  18. craft — boats
  19. row — a line
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cold — an illness
  24. field — for sport

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