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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. hand — help
  3. cell — in biology
  4. shower — rain
  5. season — in sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. hand — in cards
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cell — a phone
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. season — of the year
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. scale — in music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. scale — size or range
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. craft — a skill
  24. prune — to trim

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