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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mate — to breed
  4. ground — crushed
  5. key — in music
  6. mate — a partner
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. current — of water
  11. key — for a lock
  12. current — electric
  13. craft — a skill
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wind — moving air
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. mate — a friend
  21. key — the most important part
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. current — happening now
  24. wind — moving air

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