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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fine — high quality
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. march — the month
  9. hand — help
  10. fall — the season
  11. craft — a skill
  12. band — a music group
  13. march — the month
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wax — to grow
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fall — to drop
  19. band — a ring
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. fine — all right
  23. march — music
  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