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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. spell — letters
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. net — after costs
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. net — in sport
  8. craft — boats
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. spell — a short time
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. rule — government
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. craft — a skill
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. net — for catching
  24. spell — magic

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