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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 120 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. deal — to handle
  3. bank — of a river
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. clip — to cut
  6. row — a line
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bank — for money
  11. cell — a phone
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. clip — a video
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. present — the time now
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. present — there
  18. clip — for paper
  19. present — a gift
  20. shower — rain
  21. bank — for money
  22. craft — boats
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cell — in biology

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