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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · sharp · rule · game · craft · wound · pitcher · season

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. game — a match
  5. craft — boats
  6. rule — government
  7. season — of the year
  8. land — ground
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. craft — a skill
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. land — to come down
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. rule — a law
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. sharp — clever
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wound — an injury
  23. season — in sport
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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