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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. present — a gift
  6. fall — to drop
  7. date — the fruit
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — the amount
  10. present — there
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. craft — a skill
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fall — the season
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. present — the time now
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. coach — a trainer

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