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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. craft — a skill
  4. club — for golf
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. scale — in music
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. club — for dancing
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bat — the animal
  19. club — a group
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. craft — boats
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. mine — belonging to me

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