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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rock — a stone
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bat — the animal
  5. court — of law
  6. land — to come down
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bound — tied together
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. drill — a practice
  12. swing — to play on
  13. court — of a king
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rock — music
  17. drill — the tool
  18. craft — boats
  19. land — a country
  20. swing — music
  21. land — ground
  22. bound — certain
  23. drill — army training
  24. bat — for baseball

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