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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bark — to shout
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ground — crushed
  6. swing — in golf
  7. field — for sport
  8. craft — boats
  9. field — farmland
  10. rush — hurry
  11. field — a subject
  12. ground — a position
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. swing — to play on
  18. ground — the earth
  19. swing — music
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. row — a line
  24. craft — a handicraft

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