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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. last — final
  5. clip — a video
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. march — music
  8. firm — steady
  9. craft — a skill
  10. object — a thing
  11. firm — decided
  12. clip — to cut
  13. object — to protest
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. last — finally
  16. object — an aim
  17. march — the month
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. march — the month
  21. firm — a company
  22. clip — for paper
  23. last — to go on
  24. trunk — of a tree

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