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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. club — for dancing
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bark — to shout
  5. swing — to play on
  6. row — to paddle
  7. tear — to rip
  8. prune — to trim
  9. swing — music
  10. row — a line
  11. prune — to trim
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. club — for golf
  15. saw — the tool
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. tear — from crying
  21. club — a group
  22. craft — boats
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. tear — from crying

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