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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. season — in sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. last — to go on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. last — final
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. season — of the year
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. craft — boats
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. tear — to rip
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. last — finally
  23. wax — to grow
  24. lash — an eyelash

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