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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. kid — to tease
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. board — to get on
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. kid — child
  13. mate — to breed
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. craft — a skill
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. chest — of your body
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mine — for digging
  23. board — a committee
  24. craft — boats

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