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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. march — the month
  3. last — final
  4. craft — a skill
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. last — finally
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. cell — in biology
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wound — an injury
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. march — music
  17. last — to go on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cell — a phone
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. vault — a safe
  23. march — the month
  24. craft — boats

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