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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. land — to come down
  3. court — of law
  4. fall — the season
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. land — a country
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — of a king
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. craft — a skill
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. board — to get on
  15. land — ground
  16. board — a committee
  17. court — for sport
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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