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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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. key — for a lock
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. spring — the season
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. spring — a coil
  9. key — the most important part
  10. cue — a signal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. key — in music
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. tube — a container
  16. bat — the animal
  17. spring — of water
  18. craft — boats
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cue — a hint
  21. row — to paddle
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. cue — for pool
  24. tube — the underground

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