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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 124 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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. snap — to click
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. spell — magic
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. land — to come down
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. spell — a short time
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. land — a country
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bore — to tire
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — the underground
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. land — ground
  24. spell — letters

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