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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cold — not warm
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. squash — the sport
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. object — to protest
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. object — an aim
  17. kid — to tease
  18. row — to paddle
  19. kid — child
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. prune — to trim
  22. squash — to crush
  23. object — a thing
  24. row — a line

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