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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. craft — a skill
  4. pit — a hole
  5. last — final
  6. game — wild animals
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. last — finally
  10. game — a match
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. season — in sport
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — in a race
  15. season — of the year
  16. shower — rain
  17. last — to go on
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. ball — a great time
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. ball — a dance
  24. craft — boats

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