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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: craft · row · lie · game · mate · hand · wound · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mate — to breed
  5. lie — to recline
  6. mate — a partner
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. mate — a friend
  9. craft — a skill
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. hand — help
  12. game — a match
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. craft — boats
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wound — an injury
  19. game — wild animals
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. season — of the year
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. season — in sport
  24. lie — an untruth

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