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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. craft — boats
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wind — moving air
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. spell — letters
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mate — a partner
  9. last — finally
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spell — a short time
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mate — a friend
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — a skill
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. spell — magic
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. nail — on a finger

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