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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. object — an aim
  3. firm — decided
  4. court — of law
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. craft — a skill
  11. object — a thing
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. present — a gift
  14. firm — a company
  15. present — there
  16. chest — a box
  17. object — to protest
  18. chest — of your body
  19. firm — steady
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. present — the time now
  24. fork — in a road

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