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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. court — of law
  6. bear — the animal
  7. craft — a skill
  8. content — happy
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. court — for sport
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bear — the animal
  13. craft — boats
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. court — of a king
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. content — the amount
  21. fork — in a road
  22. band — a ring
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. band — a music group

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