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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. staff — a stick
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. content — happy
  7. staff — employees
  8. bore — to drill
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bore — to tire
  14. staff — employees
  15. craft — boats
  16. plane — a tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. wound — an injury
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. craft — a skill
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. content — the amount

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