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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — help
  4. cue — a hint
  5. hand — in cards
  6. tear — to rip
  7. court — for sport
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rest — a break
  13. craft — a skill
  14. perch — the fish
  15. court — of a king
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cue — for pool
  18. rest — what's left
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cue — a signal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. tear — from crying
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bat — the animal

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