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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 116 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. mate — a partner
  5. club — for golf
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bound — certain
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mate — a friend
  13. spring — a coil
  14. saw — the tool
  15. spring — the season
  16. bound — obliged
  17. spring — of water
  18. hand — in cards
  19. club — a group
  20. hand — help
  21. cap — a hat
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. cap — of ice
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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