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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. craft — boats
  3. club — a group
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. last — finally
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rock — a stone
  8. last — to go on
  9. craft — a skill
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. kid — child
  13. row — a line
  14. court — for sport
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. last — final
  17. kid — to tease
  18. row — to paddle
  19. land — ground
  20. court — of a king
  21. rock — music
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. row — a quarrel

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