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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. hand — help
  3. rule — government
  4. saw — the tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. fork — in a road
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bark — to shout
  17. saw — the tool
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — boats
  20. rule — a law
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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