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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. pit — in a race
  4. craft — boats
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tear — to rip
  7. club — for golf
  8. tear — from crying
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tear — from crying
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. last — final
  14. wound — an injury
  15. date — the fruit
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. club — a group
  19. wound — an injury
  20. last — finally
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. craft — a skill
  23. pit — a hole
  24. last — to go on

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