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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spring — a coil
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. fine — all right
  8. court — for sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. last — final
  11. court — of law
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — of water
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — finally
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. spring — the season
  20. court — of a king
  21. craft — a skill
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. last — to go on

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