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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — a skill
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. tear — to rip
  10. court — of a king
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bulb — for light
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — a division
  19. craft — boats
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. court — of law
  24. tear — from crying

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