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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: last · arm · cold · patient · stick · court · mark · craft

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. court — of law
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — for sport
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. last — finally
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mark — a trace
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. court — of a king
  23. last — final
  24. mark — a grade

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