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

Word bank: kid · field · fine · hide · craft · bat · jam · rest

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. fine — all right
  2. field — farmland
  3. fine — high quality
  4. kid — to tease
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. craft — boats
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bat — the animal
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. field — for sport
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rest — a break
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. rest — what's left
  23. kid — child
  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