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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chest — of your body
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. craft — a skill
  10. net — after costs
  11. tube — the underground
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. net — for catching
  15. craft — boats
  16. file — a tool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. net — in sport
  20. file — a document
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. date — the fruit
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bowl — a football final

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