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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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. band — a ring
  5. ball — a dance
  6. drill — a practice
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. drill — army training
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a great time
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. kid — to tease
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. kid — child
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wake — a trail
  20. band — a music group
  21. mine — for digging
  22. craft — boats
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. drill — the tool

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