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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: chair · can · field · present · cold · arm · trunk · craft

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. craft — a skill
  4. field — a subject
  5. cold — not warm
  6. craft — boats
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. can — to be able to
  14. present — a gift
  15. can — a tin
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chair — a leader
  19. present — there
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. present — the time now

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