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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. spell — magic
  9. band — a music group
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bulb — for light
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. craft — boats
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. sharp — clever
  19. drill — army training
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. spell — letters
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spell — a short time
  24. drill — a practice

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