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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. fall — the season
  6. craft — boats
  7. bulb — for light
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mine — for digging
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bat — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. fall — to drop
  20. face — to confront
  21. band — a ring
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. face — part of the head

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