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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. net — after costs
  3. saw — the tool
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. prune — to trim
  6. craft — a skill
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. prune — to trim
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. net — for catching
  19. saw — the tool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. net — in sport
  23. row — a line
  24. mine — an explosive

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