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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. saw — the tool
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ball — a great time
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. object — to protest
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. tear — from crying
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. object — a thing
  14. ball — a dance
  15. craft — a skill
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tear — to rip
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wind — moving air
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. object — an aim
  24. hide — animal skin

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