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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 120 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cap — of ice
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. craft — a skill
  10. rest — a break
  11. clip — to cut
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rest — what's left
  17. court — of law
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rest — what's left
  20. court — for sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. cap — a lid
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. court — of a king

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