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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. sharp — clever
  5. craft — boats
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. spring — the season
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. spring — of water
  12. season — of the year
  13. last — finally
  14. craft — a skill
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. spring — a coil
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. season — in sport
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. sharp — exactly

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