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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. craft — boats
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitch — completely
  4. net — for catching
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bore — to drill
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. spell — letters
  10. capital — a city
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. net — in sport
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. net — after costs
  16. bore — to tire
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. capital — money
  20. spell — magic
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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