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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pass — a permit
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chip — for betting
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. hand — help
  13. rash — a series
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. stem — to come from
  16. rash — hasty
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. clip — a video
  20. craft — a skill
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. wax — to grow

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