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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pit — a hole
  5. craft — a skill
  6. club — for dancing
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. capital — a city
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. club — for golf
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pit — in a race
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. capital — money
  19. club — a group
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. prune — to trim
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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