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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chip — for betting
  4. fork — in a road
  5. net — after costs
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chip — to eat
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. shower — rain
  14. net — for catching
  15. prune — to trim
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. net — in sport
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. shower — to wash
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. craft — boats
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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