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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. row — a line
  3. spell — a short time
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. squash — the sport
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spell — letters
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. sharp — clever

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