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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. craft — a skill
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. craft — boats
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. game — a match
  13. scale — size or range
  14. roll — a cake
  15. mate — a friend
  16. tear — to rip
  17. present — there
  18. roll — a list
  19. mate — to breed
  20. present — a gift
  21. wind — moving air
  22. scale — in music
  23. present — the time now
  24. wind — moving air

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