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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. craft — boats
  3. net — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. craft — a skill
  6. season — of the year
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cold — not warm
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. season — in sport
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. snap — to click

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