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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bat — the animal
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. last — finally
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wound — an injury
  10. craft — boats
  11. board — a committee
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. last — to go on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. saw — the tool
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. craft — a skill
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. mine — for digging
  22. board — to get on
  23. last — final
  24. bat — for baseball

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