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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitch — completely
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. season — of the year
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. craft — boats
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. content — the amount
  13. date — the fruit
  14. capital — a city
  15. rash — a series
  16. season — in sport
  17. content — happy
  18. rash — hasty
  19. capital — money
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. craft — a skill

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