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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. ground — a position
  4. mug — a cup
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a skill
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. mug — to rob
  11. ground — crushed
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. ground — the earth
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. date — the fruit
  19. scale — size or range
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. mug — a face
  22. march — the month
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. scale — for weighing

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