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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. court — of law
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. tube — a container
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. march — the month
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. scale — in music
  14. tube — the underground
  15. court — for sport
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. march — music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a skill
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. court — of a king

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