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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cap — of ice
  3. content — happy
  4. net — for catching
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cap — a lid
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cap — a hat
  14. craft — boats
  15. net — in sport
  16. bat — the animal
  17. plane — a tool
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. vault — a safe
  20. content — the amount
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cold — not warm
  23. net — after costs
  24. cold — an illness

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