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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bass — the fish
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. plane — a tool
  10. mine — for digging
  11. can — a tin
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bass — low music
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. band — a music group
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. can — a tin
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. can — to be able to
  24. craft — a skill

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