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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. spring — the season
  5. ball — a great time
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. content — the amount
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ball — a dance
  20. spring — of water
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. land — a country
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wave — of the sea

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