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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bass — the fish
  4. hand — help
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ground — the earth
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. hand — in cards
  11. root — of a plant
  12. field — for sport
  13. bass — low music
  14. track — a path
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. ground — crushed
  17. craft — boats
  18. field — a subject
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. track — to keep track
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. track — a song
  24. field — farmland

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