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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. net — after costs
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. craft — boats
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. squash — the sport
  8. craft — a skill
  9. net — in sport
  10. ground — a position
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. net — for catching
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. key — in music
  24. sharp — clever

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