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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · field · craft · jam · chip · saw · snap · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. season — in sport
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chip — for betting
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chip — to eat
  15. saw — the tool
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. field — farmland
  18. snap — to click
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. field — for sport
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. shower — to wash
  24. field — a subject

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