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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. foot — a measure
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. ball — a dance
  10. craft — boats
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. land — to come down
  13. mine — for digging
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. snap — to click
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. spring — of water
  19. ball — a great time
  20. spring — the season
  21. land — a country
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. land — ground
  24. foot — the bottom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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