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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wound — an injury
  6. craft — boats
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. wound — an injury
  9. date — the fruit
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bark — to shout
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pitch — completely
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. shower — rain

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