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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. last — final
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. hand — in cards
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. scale — size or range
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. club — a group
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rash — hasty
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. club — for golf
  13. craft — a skill
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. last — to go on
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. mine — for digging
  19. craft — boats
  20. last — finally
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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