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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. present — there
  4. craft — a skill
  5. present — the time now
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wound — an injury
  9. craft — boats
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stem — to come from
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. present — a gift
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rush — hurry
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mine — an explosive

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