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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. craft — a skill
  3. sharp — clever
  4. field — a subject
  5. land — a country
  6. spell — a short time
  7. land — to come down
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. field — for sport
  10. swing — music
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. hand — in cards
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. field — farmland
  16. spell — magic
  17. swing — in golf
  18. spell — letters
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. hand — help
  21. craft — boats
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. swing — to play on

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