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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. scale — in music
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. content — happy
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. content — the amount
  8. spell — letters
  9. spring — the season
  10. scale — size or range
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. spell — a short time
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. prune — to trim
  17. craft — a skill
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. spring — of water
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spell — magic
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rush — hurry

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