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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. vault — a safe
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. hand — help
  9. stand — to bear
  10. court — for sport
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. court — of a king
  19. hand — in cards
  20. sharp — clever
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. court — of law

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