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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — boats
  3. mine — for digging
  4. squash — the sport
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. lie — to recline
  7. cell — a phone
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cell — in biology
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — of a plant

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