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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. spell — letters
  4. hand — in cards
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. cap — a hat
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cap — of ice
  11. craft — boats
  12. spell — magic
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. hand — help
  15. drill — army training
  16. craft — a skill
  17. board — to get on
  18. cap — a lid
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. plane — a tool
  21. board — a committee
  22. spell — a short time
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. drill — the tool

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