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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. march — the month
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. court — for sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — to protest
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — a video
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. lie — to recline
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — a thing
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. clip — for paper
  16. craft — a skill
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. march — music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — happy

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