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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. craft — a skill
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. craft — boats
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. capital — money
  9. mark — a trace
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. capital — a city
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. season — in sport
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. court — of a king
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — a gift
  22. season — of the year
  23. mark — a grade
  24. season — to add flavour

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