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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. craft — a skill
  4. key — for a lock
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. key — in music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. craft — boats
  14. mate — to breed
  15. key — the most important part
  16. fork — in a road
  17. mate — a partner
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mate — a friend
  23. net — in sport
  24. wind — moving air

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