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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. craft — boats
  3. band — a music group
  4. net — after costs
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. file — a document
  8. band — a ring
  9. spring — a coil
  10. net — for catching
  11. kick — in football
  12. file — a line of people
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. file — a tool
  19. spring — of water
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. spring — the season
  22. last — to go on
  23. pass — a permit
  24. craft — a skill

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