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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. clip — for paper
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. rash — a series
  5. bound — obliged
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bound — certain
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bear — the animal
  11. drill — the tool
  12. clip — a video
  13. craft — a skill
  14. rock — music
  15. shower — rain
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rock — a stone
  20. drill — a practice
  21. craft — boats
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bound — tied together

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