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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 116 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. craft — a skill
  3. ground — the earth
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. craft — boats
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. file — a tool
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ground — crushed
  12. drill — the tool
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. drill — army training
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rock — a stone
  19. file — a line of people
  20. ground — a position
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rock — music
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. file — a document

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