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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. march — music
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. march — the month
  5. craft — a skill
  6. face — part of the head
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. face — to confront
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. game — wild animals
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. game — a match
  24. march — the month

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