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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. tear — to rip
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lie — to recline
  7. club — a group
  8. shower — to wash
  9. press — a publisher
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. land — ground
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. club — for golf
  15. press — newspapers
  16. tear — from crying
  17. craft — boats
  18. shower — rain
  19. club — for dancing
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. tear — from crying
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. press — to push

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