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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. craft — boats
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. spell — a short time
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spell — letters
  8. plane — a tool
  9. mate — a friend
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. craft — a skill
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. net — after costs
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. net — in sport
  20. spell — magic
  21. pitch — completely
  22. mate — a partner
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. net — for catching

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