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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wind — moving air
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. court — for sport
  6. board — to get on
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. stem — to come from
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — soda
  14. court — of a king
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bat — the animal
  18. court — of law
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. pop — to visit
  22. board — a committee
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. ruler — a monarch

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