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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 116 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. shower — to wash
  3. land — to come down
  4. shower — rain
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — a coil
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. land — a country
  10. spring — of water
  11. tear — from crying
  12. craft — boats
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spring — the season
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stand — to bear
  18. perch — the fish
  19. land — ground
  20. tear — from crying
  21. craft — a skill
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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