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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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. court — for sport
  3. wax — to grow
  4. craft — boats
  5. mine — for digging
  6. court — of law
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. last — to go on
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. drill — a practice
  13. last — final
  14. drill — army training
  15. craft — a skill
  16. fork — in a road
  17. court — of a king
  18. drill — the tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. last — finally
  24. vault — a safe

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