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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. charge — a price
  7. hand — in cards
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a path
  12. face — to confront
  13. craft — boats
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. craft — a skill
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cold — an illness
  21. charge — in control
  22. cold — not warm
  23. march — the month
  24. track — a song

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