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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. spring — a coil
  7. face — part of the head
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — an aim
  11. file — a document
  12. spring — the season
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. craft — boats
  15. ground — crushed
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. spring — of water
  21. craft — a skill
  22. ground — a position
  23. face — to confront
  24. ground — the earth

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