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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. track — a song
  5. craft — a skill
  6. track — a path
  7. craft — boats
  8. root — of a plant
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. spell — letters
  11. pitch — completely
  12. hand — help
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. root — of a word
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. root — the cause
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. track — to keep track

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