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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. charge — electricity
  3. court — for sport
  4. charge — in control
  5. chest — a box
  6. field — a subject
  7. craft — a skill
  8. court — of law
  9. chest — of your body
  10. field — farmland
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chest — of your body
  14. field — for sport
  15. date — the fruit
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. craft — boats
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. court — of a king
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. charge — a price
  24. fan — a supporter

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