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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. craft — a skill
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. ball — a dance
  5. fall — to drop
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. craft — boats
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. plane — a tool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. track — a song
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season

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