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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 124 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. date — the fruit
  4. mate — a friend
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. mate — to breed
  7. clip — to cut
  8. file — a tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. craft — a skill
  11. clip — for paper
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. mate — a partner
  16. clip — a video
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. file — a line of people
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. capital — a city
  21. file — a document
  22. craft — boats
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. date — on the calendar

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