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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 120 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: march · fall · chair · ball · file · bear · craft · lean

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. chair — a leader
  3. march — music
  4. craft — boats
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. file — a tool
  11. craft — a skill
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. march — the month
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. fall — to drop
  16. lean — to bend
  17. fall — the season
  18. file — a document
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. lean — thin
  22. fall — to drop
  23. ball — a great time
  24. march — the month

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