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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. chest — of your body
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. last — final
  5. chest — a box
  6. content — happy
  7. deal — to handle
  8. last — to go on
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. craft — boats
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rock — music
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. last — finally
  17. cell — a phone
  18. craft — a skill
  19. content — the amount
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rock — a stone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. deal — a big deal

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