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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. object — an aim
  3. present — a gift
  4. object — to protest
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. clip — for paper
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. object — a thing
  11. clip — a video
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. perch — the fish
  15. craft — a skill
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. present — there
  18. clip — to cut
  19. present — the time now
  20. bat — the animal
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. date — the fruit

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