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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. craft — a skill
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hand — in cards
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. spring — a coil
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. spring — the season
  17. craft — boats
  18. spring — of water
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bank — for money
  21. hand — help
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. land — to come down
  24. bank — of a river

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