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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pit — a hole
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pitch — completely
  17. content — happy
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. ball — a great time
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stem — to come from

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