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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bass — the fish
  5. file — a document
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bass — low music
  10. spring — of water
  11. mate — a friend
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. spring — the season
  15. snap — to click
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mate — to breed
  20. craft — boats
  21. file — a tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. staff — employees

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