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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. row — a line
  2. last — to go on
  3. craft — a skill
  4. bound — certain
  5. key — for a lock
  6. last — finally
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. craft — boats
  15. key — in music
  16. last — final
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. kid — to tease
  19. row — to paddle
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. key — the most important part
  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