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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. mug — a face
  7. face — to point toward
  8. spring — of water
  9. field — a subject
  10. cold — not warm
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. mug — a cup
  13. spring — the season
  14. fork — in a road
  15. face — to confront
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. spring — a coil
  18. craft — a skill
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. face — part of the head
  21. field — farmland
  22. mug — to rob
  23. cold — an illness
  24. craft — boats

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