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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. net — in sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pop — music
  6. rest — a break
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. scale — in music
  9. net — for catching
  10. file — a tool
  11. craft — boats
  12. net — after costs
  13. file — a document
  14. pop — to visit
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. spell — magic
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pop — soda
  24. scale — size or range

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