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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. spell — a short time
  5. tube — the underground
  6. craft — a skill
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. drill — army training
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. drill — the tool
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spell — letters
  14. capital — a city
  15. object — to protest
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. drill — a practice
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — an aim
  21. mine — for digging
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. spell — magic

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