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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. craft — a skill
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spring — a coil
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spring — the season
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pitcher — a jug

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