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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. march — the month
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cap — a lid
  5. mug — a face
  6. court — of law
  7. rest — a break
  8. game — wild animals
  9. court — of a king
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. game — a match
  13. wound — an injury
  14. court — for sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cap — of ice
  20. march — the month
  21. cap — a hat
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. march — music
  24. mug — a cup

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