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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. clip — for paper
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. rock — music
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — the cause
  7. drill — army training
  8. rock — a stone
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. craft — a skill
  13. pound — a weight
  14. drill — the tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. band — a ring
  21. clip — a video
  22. band — a music group
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rock — to move gently

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