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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. court — of law
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. mark — a trace
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. craft — a skill
  9. drill — army training
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. clip — a video
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mine — for digging
  15. drill — a practice
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mark — a grade
  19. court — for sport
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. clip — to cut
  24. court — of a king

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