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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. chair — a leader
  3. can — to be able to
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mate — to breed
  6. spring — a coil
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. mate — a partner
  10. chest — of your body
  11. can — a tin
  12. mate — a friend
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. craft — a skill
  15. stand — to bear
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. spring — the season
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. can — a tin
  24. spring — of water

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