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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. net — in sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. present — there
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. kid — to tease
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. net — for catching
  13. craft — a skill
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. present — a gift
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. clip — a video
  19. net — after costs
  20. craft — boats
  21. clip — for paper
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. clip — to cut
  24. vault — a safe

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