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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. squash — the sport
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. game — a match
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. saw — the tool
  14. shower — rain
  15. craft — boats
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. squash — to crush
  20. craft — a skill
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. saw — the tool

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