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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bore — to tire
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. field — farmland
  6. hand — in cards
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. craft — a skill
  9. snap — to click
  10. hand — help
  11. field — for sport
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. field — a subject
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bore — to drill
  16. spring — of water
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bore — gave birth

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