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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 120 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pass — a permit
  3. craft — boats
  4. march — music
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. spring — the season
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — a container
  12. march — the month
  13. spring — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. court — for sport
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. tear — from crying
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. tear — from crying

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