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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. court — for sport
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. court — of a king
  5. face — part of the head
  6. staff — employees
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. court — of law
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. craft — a skill
  12. squash — the sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. squash — to crush
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. face — to confront
  18. prune — to trim
  19. staff — a stick
  20. craft — boats
  21. face — to point toward
  22. staff — employees
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. clip — a video

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