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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — a practice
  11. clip — a video
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. capital — a city
  16. clip — for paper
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. drill — army training
  20. clip — to cut
  21. craft — boats
  22. drill — the tool
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. squash — to crush

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