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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. march — the month
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — for digging
  10. craft — boats
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. foot — a measure
  16. craft — a skill
  17. content — happy
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. content — the amount
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. prune — the fruit

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