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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. craft — a skill
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wound — an injury
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. march — music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. scale — in music
  19. deal — to handle
  20. clip — for paper
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. march — the month
  24. wind — moving air

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