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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. shower — rain
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. staff — employees
  5. march — the month
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. staff — employees
  8. spring — of water
  9. march — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. shower — to wash
  21. march — the month
  22. staff — a stick
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. swing — in golf

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