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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. cold — an illness
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bound — obliged
  5. face — part of the head
  6. mine — for digging
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. game — a match
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — not warm
  13. face — to point toward
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. craft — boats
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bound — tied together
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. last — finally
  23. bound — certain
  24. face — to confront

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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