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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. craft — a skill
  4. rash — hasty
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. band — a ring
  9. rest — a break
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. kid — to tease
  14. craft — boats
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. kid — child
  18. content — happy
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. content — the amount
  21. rash — a series
  22. land — a country
  23. rest — what's left
  24. band — a music group

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