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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. chair — a leader
  3. clip — a video
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. clip — for paper
  7. game — wild animals
  8. hand — in cards
  9. dip — to sink
  10. craft — boats
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. craft — a skill
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. hand — help
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. game — a match

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