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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pop — music
  3. pit — in a race
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pit — a hole
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cap — a hat
  9. face — to confront
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. field — for sport
  12. content — the amount
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — a skill
  15. pop — soda
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. content — happy
  21. face — to point toward
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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