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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. craft — a skill
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chest — a box
  13. game — wild animals
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. capital — a city
  19. game — a match
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bass — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chest — of your body

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