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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. craft — boats
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ball — a dance
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. row — a line
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. spring — the season
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. row — to paddle
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. craft — a skill
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ball — a great time
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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