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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. suit — clothes
  7. court — for sport
  8. mate — a friend
  9. craft — a skill
  10. hand — in cards
  11. mate — to breed
  12. present — there
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. present — the time now
  17. suit — in cards
  18. mate — a partner
  19. kid — to tease
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. suit — to fit
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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