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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. rash — hasty
  3. can — a tin
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. craft — a skill
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. season — of the year
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. spring — of water
  13. can — a tin
  14. spring — a coil
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. craft — boats
  17. season — in sport
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. rash — a series
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. spring — the season

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