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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. spring — of water
  3. file — a tool
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. wound — an injury
  6. deal — to handle
  7. game — a match
  8. spring — the season
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. land — ground
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. craft — a skill
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — a country
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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