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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: season · hand · wake · craft · firm · march · game · cell

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. march — the month
  3. hand — in cards
  4. season — in sport
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wake — a trail
  7. firm — decided
  8. game — a match
  9. march — music
  10. hand — help
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. cell — in biology
  13. craft — boats
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. firm — a company
  20. game — wild animals
  21. craft — a skill
  22. cell — a phone
  23. season — of the year
  24. wake — before a funeral

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