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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. spring — of water
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. can — to be able to
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. roll — a cake
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spring — the season
  15. race — a contest
  16. can — a tin
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. race — the arms race
  19. hand — in cards
  20. race — humankind
  21. bulb — for light
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. roll — a list
  24. can — a tin

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