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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. swing — to play on
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fork — in a road
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. craft — a skill
  10. ball — a dance
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. fine — high quality
  19. craft — boats
  20. fine — all right
  21. mine — for digging
  22. march — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — 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