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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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. land — a country
  6. game — wild animals
  7. drill — army training
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. drill — a practice
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. mine — for digging
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. drill — the tool
  22. toast — bread
  23. craft — boats
  24. game — a match

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