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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. band — a ring
  3. lie — to recline
  4. craft — a skill
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. swing — music
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. band — a music group
  11. pop — to visit
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. deal — to handle
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cell — a phone
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pop — music
  20. cell — in biology
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. pop — soda

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