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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 116 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — boats
  6. hand — help
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spell — a short time
  10. prune — to trim
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — in a race
  15. spell — magic
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. hand — in cards
  19. spell — letters
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. craft — a skill

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