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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. last — finally
  4. craft — boats
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wound — an injury
  7. game — wild animals
  8. club — for golf
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. game — a match
  17. wound — an injury
  18. last — to go on
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — to bear
  21. club — a group
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. club — for dancing

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