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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: craft · season · chest · object · face · ground · last · ball

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. last — final
  3. object — an aim
  4. face — to point toward
  5. last — to go on
  6. craft — a skill
  7. ground — a position
  8. chest — of your body
  9. object — a thing
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a dance
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. ground — crushed
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. object — to protest
  17. chest — of your body
  18. last — finally
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. face — to confront
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. face — part of the head
  23. chest — a box
  24. ground — the earth

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