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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. perch — the fish
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — to rip
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. capital — a city
  20. wound — an injury
  21. tear — from crying
  22. craft — boats
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. lean — to rest against

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