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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. root — of a word
  3. chest — a box
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. mate — a partner
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. craft — a skill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mate — a friend
  12. chest — of your body
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mate — to breed
  23. face — to point toward
  24. kick — in football

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