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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cap — of ice
  4. spring — of water
  5. cap — a lid
  6. craft — boats
  7. fall — to drop
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. game — wild animals
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. cap — a hat
  13. deal — to handle
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. game — a match
  18. fall — to drop
  19. drill — a practice
  20. spring — the season
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fall — the season
  24. wave — of the sea

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