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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. tear — from crying
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. track — a song
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cap — a hat
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tear — to rip
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. track — a path
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cap — of ice
  19. track — to keep track
  20. tear — from crying
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wake — a trail
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cap — a lid

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