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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. row — a line
  6. craft — boats
  7. key — for a lock
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. row — to paddle
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. craft — a skill
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. roll — a list
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. shower — rain
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. key — the most important part
  20. mine — for digging
  21. key — in music
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. shower — to wash

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