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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. mug — a face
  5. rock — music
  6. spell — letters
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. last — finally
  10. spell — magic
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rock — a stone
  14. craft — boats
  15. saw — the tool
  16. last — final
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mug — a cup
  19. ball — a dance
  20. clip — a video
  21. craft — a skill
  22. last — to go on
  23. spell — a short time
  24. ball — a great time

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