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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 116 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. kid — child
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. craft — boats
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. present — the time now
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. hand — help
  11. kid — to tease
  12. last — to go on
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. present — there
  15. sharp — clever
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — to crush
  21. present — a gift
  22. craft — a skill
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. vault — a safe

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