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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. ground — a position
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. ground — the earth
  11. toast — bread
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ground — crushed
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bark — to shout
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. key — the most important part
  23. scale — in music
  24. key — in music

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