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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 124 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. craft — a skill
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kid — child
  9. rash — a series
  10. craft — boats
  11. rash — hasty
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. fine — all right
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. row — a line
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. spring — the season
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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