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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 124 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. cap — a lid
  2. field — for sport
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bass — the fish
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — to trim
  16. craft — boats
  17. prune — to trim
  18. craft — a skill
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cap — a hat
  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