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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. can — a tin
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — to visit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rest — what's left
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pop — music
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. spring — of water
  14. can — to be able to
  15. hand — help
  16. rest — a break
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. can — a tin
  21. date — the fruit
  22. snap — to click
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. craft — a skill

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