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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. craft — a skill
  3. firm — a company
  4. craft — boats
  5. march — the month
  6. hand — in cards
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. capital — money
  13. rock — a stone
  14. capital — a city
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. firm — steady
  17. drill — a practice
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. firm — decided
  20. drill — army training
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. hand — help
  24. march — music

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