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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. craft — a skill
  3. row — a line
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. net — in sport
  6. spring — the season
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. field — farmland
  9. kick — in football
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. field — a subject
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. craft — boats
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spring — of water
  22. net — for catching
  23. field — for sport
  24. net — after costs

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