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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. dip — to sink
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spring — of water
  6. craft — a skill
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. craft — boats
  13. net — after costs
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rash — a series
  19. prune — to trim
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bore — to tire
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. rash — hasty

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