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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. tube — the underground
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hand — in cards
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. rest — what's left
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. tube — a container
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. net — after costs
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. hand — help
  16. net — for catching
  17. rest — what's left
  18. land — a country
  19. net — in sport
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — a list
  22. rest — a break
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. safe — out of danger

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