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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. present — the time now
  5. kid — child
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. swing — to play on
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. craft — boats
  12. kid — to tease
  13. craft — a skill
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. present — a gift
  16. content — the amount
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. present — there
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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