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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. row — a line
  8. spring — a coil
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. spring — the season
  11. key — in music
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. clip — a video
  15. row — to paddle
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — for a lock
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. spring — of water
  20. clip — for paper
  21. shower — rain
  22. squash — to crush
  23. craft — boats
  24. clip — to cut

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