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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. club — for dancing
  4. prune — to trim
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. content — happy
  9. craft — boats
  10. can — a tin
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. capital — a city
  18. prune — to trim
  19. march — music
  20. craft — a skill
  21. content — the amount
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — a group
  24. content — videos and posts

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