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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. spell — magic
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. spell — letters
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pound — a weight
  13. chair — a leader
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kid — child
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cold — an illness
  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