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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. game — a match
  2. mate — a partner
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. last — finally
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. last — final
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. spell — letters
  11. mate — a friend
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. spell — a short time
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. last — to go on
  23. game — wild animals
  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