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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wound — an injury
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. craft — a handicraft

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