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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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: chest · content · rush · fork · mug · field · lie · craft

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. rush — hurry
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — farmland
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lie — to recline
  11. content — the amount
  12. chest — a box
  13. fork — in a road
  14. field — for sport
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mug — a face
  19. content — happy
  20. mug — a cup
  21. field — a subject
  22. mug — to rob
  23. craft — a skill
  24. lie — an untruth

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