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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. rest — a break
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. rash — a series
  5. capital — a city
  6. spring — a coil
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spring — of water
  13. capital — money
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rest — what's left
  24. spring — the season

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