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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. spell — letters
  9. wind — moving air
  10. drill — army training
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spell — magic
  13. rule — a law
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. drill — the tool
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. spell — a short time
  24. coach — a trainer

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