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

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — boats
  6. charge — electricity
  7. capital — money
  8. cold — an illness
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. charge — in control
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. charge — a price
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. court — of law
  16. cold — not warm
  17. capital — a city
  18. sharp — clever

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