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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. last — final
  7. net — in sport
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. field — a subject
  10. net — for catching
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bass — low music
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. net — after costs
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bass — the fish
  18. field — for sport
  19. bore — to drill
  20. field — farmland
  21. bore — to tire
  22. last — finally
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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