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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. clip — a video
  3. mine — for digging
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. last — final
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. mug — a cup
  10. craft — a skill
  11. last — to go on
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. mug — a face
  15. wind — moving air
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. mug — to rob
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — for paper
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wind — moving air
  22. last — finally
  23. clip — to cut
  24. craft — boats

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