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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.

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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. craft — a skill
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cell — in biology
  5. lean — thin
  6. spell — letters
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cell — a phone
  12. craft — boats
  13. court — of a king
  14. mark — a grade
  15. spell — magic
  16. mark — a trace
  17. lean — to bend
  18. spell — a short time

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