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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. craft — boats
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cell — in biology
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spring — the season
  9. fine — all right
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. last — final
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. spring — of water
  14. chest — a box
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. season — of the year
  17. last — finally
  18. fine — high quality
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. craft — a skill
  21. last — to go on
  22. spring — a coil
  23. chest — of your body
  24. date — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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