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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. capital — a city
  3. chest — of your body
  4. board — to get on
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. board — a committee
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. ball — a dance
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ball — a great time
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cell — a phone
  19. mate — a friend
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. capital — money
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. craft — a skill
  24. plane — a tool

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