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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. court — for sport
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. date — the fruit
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — to point toward
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — an illness
  17. game — a match
  18. craft — a skill
  19. court — of law
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. court — of a king
  22. craft — boats
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bowl — a football final

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