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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. court — of a king
  6. cold — an illness
  7. court — for sport
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. fork — in a road
  10. swing — music
  11. craft — boats
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. plane — a tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. craft — a skill
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cold — not warm
  22. content — happy
  23. swing — to play on
  24. court — of law

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