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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. rule — a law
  3. band — a music group
  4. clip — for paper
  5. can — a tin
  6. craft — a skill
  7. shower — rain
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. band — a ring
  12. ball — a dance
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. ball — a great time
  15. can — to be able to
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. sharp — clever
  18. craft — boats
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rule — government
  21. clip — a video
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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