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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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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. kid — child
  9. clip — a video
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. toast — bread
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. ball — a dance
  17. clip — for paper
  18. toast — the most admired

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