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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. rock — music
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mate — a friend
  5. race — humankind
  6. mate — to breed
  7. spring — the season
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. spring — of water
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. court — for sport
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. court — of law
  18. craft — boats
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rock — a stone
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. mate — a partner
  23. squash — the sport
  24. court — of a king

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