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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. kid — child
  7. march — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. root — of a word
  12. craft — boats
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. march — the month
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. march — the month
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wind — to turn a key

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