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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. stem — to come from
  3. kick — in football
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. tube — a container
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. march — the month
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. spell — magic
  17. wound — an injury
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. craft — a skill
  21. band — a music group
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. spell — letters
  24. kick — a thrill

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