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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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468
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: rush · arm · prune · bear · field · march · craft · tear

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bear — the animal
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. march — the month
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bear — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. march — music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rush — hurry
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. prune — to trim

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