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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. craft — a skill
  3. last — to go on
  4. hand — help
  5. pop — to visit
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pop — soda
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. lean — to bend
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. craft — boats
  12. lean — thin
  13. kick — in football
  14. pop — music
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. court — of law
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. last — final
  20. court — of a king
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. last — finally
  24. hand — in cards

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