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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. scale — size or range
  3. firm — decided
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. march — music
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. march — the month
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. craft — a skill
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mine — for digging
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. scale — in music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. firm — a company
  22. march — the month
  23. firm — steady
  24. mine — an explosive

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