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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. clip — for paper
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — a skill
  6. clip — a video
  7. ground — a position
  8. row — a line
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. key — in music
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — to sink
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. key — for a lock
  16. row — to paddle
  17. chair — a leader
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. key — the most important part
  20. clip — to cut
  21. season — in sport
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. row — a quarrel

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