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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. content — the amount
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. race — a contest
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. shower — rain
  9. race — humankind
  10. swing — music
  11. mate — to breed
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mine — for digging
  14. saw — the tool
  15. race — the arms race
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a skill
  18. content — happy
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mate — a friend
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — to play on

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