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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. prune — to trim
  5. craft — a skill
  6. toast — bread
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. snap — to click
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bat — the animal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bass — the fish
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bass — low music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bat — for baseball

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