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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cold — not warm
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. ground — crushed
  9. drill — the tool
  10. march — music
  11. ground — a position
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — army training
  14. plane — a tool
  15. march — the month
  16. spell — magic
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — in sport
  21. craft — a skill
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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