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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. fall — to drop
  3. present — there
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. snap — to click
  8. saw — the tool
  9. craft — a skill
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. present — a gift
  14. hand — in cards
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. craft — boats
  20. net — for catching
  21. present — the time now
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. net — after costs
  24. fall — the season

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