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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. fall — to drop
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. squash — to crush
  8. craft — a skill
  9. suit — in cards
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. fall — to drop
  13. suit — clothes
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. suit — to fit
  19. fall — the season
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cap — of ice
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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