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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. shower — rain
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wind — moving air
  11. craft — boats
  12. clip — a video
  13. net — for catching
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. lie — to recline
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wind — moving air
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. spring — of water
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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