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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 116 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. face — part of the head
  4. object — to protest
  5. hand — in cards
  6. present — a gift
  7. face — to point toward
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. present — the time now
  11. craft — a skill
  12. face — to confront
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. object — a thing
  20. spring — the season
  21. content — the amount
  22. stand — to bear
  23. present — there
  24. object — an aim

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