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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hand — help
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. rash — a series
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cold — not warm
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. prune — to trim
  16. craft — a skill
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — in music
  21. hand — in cards
  22. game — a match
  23. key — the most important part
  24. craft — boats

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