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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. court — for sport
  5. march — the month
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fine — all right
  10. march — the month
  11. net — for catching
  12. rock — a stone
  13. net — in sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. march — music
  23. net — after costs
  24. fine — high quality

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