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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. stem — to come from
  4. saw — the tool
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — a match
  7. rash — a series
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. tear — from crying
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rash — hasty
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. craft — boats
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. game — wild animals
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pitch — completely

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