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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 120 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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. mate — to breed
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. present — there
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. present — a gift
  12. court — for sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mate — a partner
  16. craft — a skill
  17. sharp — clever
  18. craft — boats
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. court — of a king
  21. present — the time now
  22. mate — a friend
  23. court — of law
  24. content — videos and posts

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