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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. row — to paddle
  4. drill — army training
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fall — the season
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — the animal
  10. fall — to drop
  11. craft — boats
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. land — to come down
  14. fall — to drop
  15. row — a line
  16. chair — a leader
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. mate — a partner
  21. craft — a skill
  22. mate — to breed
  23. land — a country
  24. chair — to sit on

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