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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. clip — for paper
  3. craft — a skill
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. craft — boats
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rock — music
  15. hand — help
  16. fork — in a road
  17. shower — to wash
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. clip — a video
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — moving air
  24. squash — to crush

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