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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. craft — a skill
  4. board — a committee
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. net — after costs
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cap — a hat
  10. kid — to tease
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. net — in sport
  13. court — of law
  14. kid — child
  15. cap — a lid
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. court — for sport
  18. cap — of ice
  19. sharp — clever
  20. craft — boats
  21. net — for catching
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. court — of a king
  24. coach — a trainer

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