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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. clip — to cut
  10. game — a match
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. chest — of your body
  14. drill — army training
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. chest — a box
  19. rush — hurry
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. clip — a video
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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