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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. land — ground
  4. can — to be able to
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. craft — boats
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. plane — a tool
  12. dip — to sink
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. can — a tin
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. can — a tin
  17. craft — a skill
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. land — to come down
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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