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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  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 — the earth
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. field — a subject
  5. ground — a position
  6. craft — a skill
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. craft — boats
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. field — for sport
  15. track — a path
  16. wake — a trail
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cold — an illness
  19. track — a song
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. craft — a handicraft
  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