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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fork — in a road
  5. shower — to wash
  6. season — in sport
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. shower — rain
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. season — of the year
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitch — completely
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. craft — a skill

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