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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. spell — letters
  4. club — for dancing
  5. court — of law
  6. cell — in biology
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — a short time
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. club — a group
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. court — of a king
  19. cell — a phone
  20. club — for golf
  21. court — for sport
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. shower — rain
  24. cell — in a prison

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