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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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. kid — child
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. cell — a phone
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kid — to tease
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. craft — boats

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