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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 116 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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. land — to come down
  5. craft — boats
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. land — a country
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rule — government
  11. cell — in biology
  12. land — ground
  13. wax — to grow
  14. rule — a law
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. snap — to click
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. lie — to recline
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spring — of water

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