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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. current — of water
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. pop — soda
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. current — happening now
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pop — to visit
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — letters
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. spell — magic
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. current — electric
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pop — music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. ground — crushed
  21. craft — boats
  22. ground — a position
  23. spell — a short time
  24. hand — help

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