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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spring — of water
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. drill — army training
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bat — the animal
  8. drill — a practice
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. craft — a skill
  11. spring — a coil
  12. craft — boats
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. drill — the tool
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spring — the season
  24. perch — the fish

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