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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — a skill
  6. land — to come down
  7. hand — in cards
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pit — in a race
  10. net — after costs
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. land — a country
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — ground
  15. net — in sport
  16. charge — electricity
  17. charge — in control
  18. pit — a hole
  19. tear — from crying
  20. charge — a price
  21. craft — boats
  22. net — for catching
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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