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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chest — of your body
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. drill — army training
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. drill — a practice
  16. spring — the season
  17. season — in sport
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. drill — the tool
  21. spring — of water
  22. chest — a box
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. chest — of your body

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