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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. spring — a coil
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bore — to tire
  11. craft — boats
  12. spring — the season
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bore — to drill
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spring — of water
  18. dip — a sauce

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