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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. land — a country
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. land — ground
  9. file — a tool
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bound — certain
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bound — obliged
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. craft — boats
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. craft — a skill
  18. file — a line of people
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bound — tied together
  21. land — to come down
  22. file — a document
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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