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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. current — electric
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a grade
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. mark — a trace
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. current — of water
  13. sharp — clever
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. game — wild animals
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. craft — boats
  19. staff — employees
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. craft — a skill
  23. field — a subject
  24. current — happening now

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