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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 116 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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hand — in cards
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. field — for sport
  11. pop — music
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. tube — the underground
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. craft — boats
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bat — the animal
  21. hand — help
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. tube — a container

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