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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mate — to breed
  4. craft — a skill
  5. bore — to tire
  6. shower — rain
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bass — low music
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bass — the fish
  19. content — the amount
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bore — to drill
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. content — happy
  24. mate — a friend

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