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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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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: hand · track · kid · mate · squash · craft · march · spell

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. spell — a short time
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. craft — a skill
  5. spell — magic
  6. mate — a partner
  7. craft — boats
  8. spell — letters
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. kid — to tease
  11. track — a song
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mate — to breed
  14. march — the month
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a path
  17. march — music
  18. hand — help
  19. kid — child
  20. squash — to crush
  21. hand — in cards
  22. march — the month
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mate — a friend

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