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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. craft — boats
  3. clip — for paper
  4. net — for catching
  5. pop — soda
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spring — the season
  8. clip — a video
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. season — in sport
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. net — after costs
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. net — in sport
  22. fine — all right
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fine — high quality

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