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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. kid — to tease
  3. last — final
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. last — to go on
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bear — the animal
  9. spell — letters
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. craft — boats
  13. file — a document
  14. last — finally
  15. bound — certain
  16. file — a tool
  17. bound — obliged
  18. craft — a skill
  19. bear — the animal
  20. tube — the underground
  21. spell — magic
  22. kid — child
  23. bound — tied together
  24. tube — a container

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