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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. spring — the season
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mate — a partner
  5. shower — to wash
  6. craft — a skill
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. staff — employees
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. staff — employees
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. mate — a friend
  13. net — in sport
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. staff — a stick
  17. spring — of water
  18. capital — money
  19. mate — to breed
  20. shower — rain
  21. net — after costs
  22. capital — a city
  23. spring — a coil
  24. net — for catching

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