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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. stem — to come from
  3. swing — music
  4. craft — a skill
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. game — a match
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. last — final
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wake — a trail
  14. sharp — clever
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. swing — in golf
  20. last — to go on
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. last — finally
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. sharp — with an edge

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