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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. content — happy
  5. charge — a price
  6. spell — magic
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. game — a match
  15. wound — an injury
  16. content — the amount
  17. pit — in a race
  18. charge — electricity
  19. spell — a short time
  20. craft — boats
  21. spell — letters
  22. charge — in control
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. craft — a skill

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