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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — boats
  3. spring — a coil
  4. staff — employees
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. staff — employees
  8. spring — of water
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. chip — to eat
  13. row — to paddle
  14. chip — for betting
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. row — a line
  19. staff — a stick
  20. squash — to crush
  21. sharp — clever
  22. spring — the season
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. squash — the sport

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