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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. object — an aim
  5. root — of a word
  6. spell — letters
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mug — a face
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spell — magic
  11. cold — an illness
  12. root — of a plant
  13. object — a thing
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. spell — a short time
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. root — the cause
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. object — to protest
  24. mug — a cup

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