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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 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bulb — for light
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. court — for sport
  9. bat — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. craft — boats
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to click
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chest — a box
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. bulb — for light
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. bulb — of a plant

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