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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · saw · mark · craft · season · mine · spring · deal

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. saw — the tool
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. spring — the season
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. bat — the animal
  8. spring — of water
  9. season — in sport
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mark — a grade
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. mark — a trace
  22. spring — a coil
  23. saw — the tool
  24. season — of the year

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