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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. ground — a position
  3. craft — a skill
  4. track — a path
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — an illness
  8. court — for sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. track — to keep track
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. craft — boats
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. ground — the earth
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. court — of a king
  19. cold — not warm
  20. track — a song
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. court — of law
  23. kick — in football
  24. ground — crushed

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