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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pop — soda
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bark — to shout
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. deal — to handle
  11. mate — to breed
  12. craft — boats
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mate — a friend
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pop — to visit
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. capital — money
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pop — music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. capital — a city
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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