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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. wound — an injury
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wound — an injury
  5. craft — boats
  6. rock — music
  7. firm — a company
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. spring — the season
  10. firm — steady
  11. rock — a stone
  12. file — a tool
  13. march — music
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. march — the month
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spring — of water
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — a coil
  20. craft — a skill
  21. file — a document
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. firm — decided
  24. file — a line of people

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