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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 120 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bulb — for light
  3. mate — to breed
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. craft — boats
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. plane — a tool
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. kid — to tease
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. mate — a friend
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bulb — for light
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. shower — rain
  20. mate — a partner
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. kid — child
  23. craft — a skill
  24. plane — an aircraft

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