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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. rush — hurry
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. stem — to come from
  11. key — for a lock
  12. season — in sport
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. key — in music
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rule — a law
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. season — of the year
  22. vault — a safe
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rule — government

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