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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cell — a phone
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. craft — a skill
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. staff — employees
  10. scale — size or range
  11. tear — from crying
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. sharp — clever
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — in music
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. staff — a stick
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cell — in biology
  21. tear — to rip
  22. craft — boats
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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