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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mate — a friend
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mine — for digging
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. mate — to breed
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — to protest
  13. clip — a video
  14. mate — a partner
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. object — a thing
  18. mark — a trace
  19. craft — boats
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. dip — to sink
  22. file — a tool
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. file — a document

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