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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. can — to be able to
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. tube — a container
  11. staff — a stick
  12. craft — a skill
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bark — to shout
  15. root — of a plant
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. root — the cause
  20. cold — not warm
  21. can — a tin
  22. root — of a word
  23. can — a tin
  24. staff — employees

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