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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 120 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. craft — boats
  3. prune — to trim
  4. firm — decided
  5. kid — child
  6. net — after costs
  7. plane — a tool
  8. shower — to wash
  9. net — in sport
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. shower — rain
  14. spring — the season
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. spring — of water
  17. prune — to trim
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. firm — steady
  20. net — for catching
  21. kid — to tease
  22. spring — a coil
  23. craft — a skill
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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