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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wax — to grow
  6. craft — a skill
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cold — an illness
  12. game — a match
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bear — the animal
  17. craft — boats
  18. spell — letters
  19. bear — the animal
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. ball — a round shape

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