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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. root — of a word
  3. pop — music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. mark — a trace
  7. court — of law
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bat — the animal
  11. root — of a plant
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. court — for sport
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. court — of a king
  16. file — a document
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mark — a grade
  19. root — the cause
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — boats
  24. pop — soda

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