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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. cold — an illness
  10. craft — a skill
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. spell — a short time
  17. object — a thing
  18. craft — boats
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — to protest
  21. sharp — clever
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. craft — a handicraft

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