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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ground — crushed
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. foot — a measure
  6. hand — help
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cap — a lid
  15. craft — a skill
  16. ground — a position
  17. saw — the tool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spring — the season
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cap — of ice
  22. craft — boats
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cap — a hat

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