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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. craft — boats
  3. spring — the season
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cue — for pool
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. craft — a skill
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cell — in biology
  16. capital — a city
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. spring — of water
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cell — a phone

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