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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. sharp — clever
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bass — low music
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. root — of a word
  9. prune — to trim
  10. craft — boats
  11. bass — the fish
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rash — a series
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. sharp — exactly

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