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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 116 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pit — in a race
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. content — the amount
  7. pit — a hole
  8. craft — a skill
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — a hint
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. row — to paddle
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cue — for pool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. row — a line

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