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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. track — a song
  3. spell — a short time
  4. shower — rain
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. track — to keep track
  7. net — after costs
  8. dip — to sink
  9. spell — letters
  10. net — in sport
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pit — a hole
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cell — a phone
  19. net — for catching
  20. track — a path
  21. pit — in a race
  22. cell — in biology
  23. spell — magic
  24. cell — in a prison

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