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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 · fork · march · ball · rest · coach · clip · date

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. march — the month
  4. craft — a skill
  5. rest — what's left
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. march — music
  8. craft — boats
  9. date — the fruit
  10. ball — a great time
  11. clip — for paper
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rest — what's left
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. rest — a break
  17. clip — a video
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. clip — to cut
  20. march — the month
  21. fork — in a road
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a dance
  24. fork — to eat with

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