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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spring — a coil
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. craft — boats
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spring — the season
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. spring — of water
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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