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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. craft — a skill
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pit — in a race
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. prune — to trim
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. shower — to wash
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. prune — to trim
  24. shower — rain

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