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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rule — government
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spell — a short time
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. roll — a cake
  12. row — a line
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. spell — letters
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. spell — magic
  19. roll — a list
  20. rule — a law
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. chest — a box
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chest — of your body

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