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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mark — a trace
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. track — to keep track
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. kid — child
  13. craft — boats
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. track — a song
  17. craft — a skill
  18. prune — to trim
  19. face — to confront
  20. prune — to trim
  21. face — part of the head
  22. track — a path
  23. kid — to tease
  24. face — to point toward

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