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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fall — to drop
  6. craft — a skill
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. court — for sport
  10. track — a path
  11. fall — the season
  12. court — of law
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. track — a song
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. ball — a great time
  17. hand — help
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ball — a dance
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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