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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wind — moving air
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a word
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chest — a box
  9. tear — from crying
  10. craft — boats
  11. cell — a phone
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. root — of a plant
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cell — in a prison

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