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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. craft — a skill
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. wound — an injury
  10. can — a tin
  11. kid — child
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. craft — boats
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. shower — rain
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wound — an injury
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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